Dublin: It is reported that the HSE has been recruiting nurses and midwives from African countries like Zimbabwe, Ghana, and Nigeria in violation of World Health Organisation rules. The World Health Organisation classified these countries as having the fewest health workers and placed them in the vulnerable workforce category. These countries are on the no-recruit list. It is alleged that HSE was recruited.
The World Health Organisation implemented the system to prevent the recruitment of health workers from these countries, which are experiencing severe staff shortages. These three countries, along with 55 others, were added to the list on March 8. However, Ireland continued to recruit in April.
Ireland is a member of the Global Code on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel established by the World Health Organisation in 2010 to address the global shortage of health workers. The code forbids member states from recruiting health workers from developing countries where there are severe shortages. Received the Council Innovation Award.
The HSE has confirmed that the decision to halt recruitment has been delayed by a month, but it does not consider this a delay. According to the HSE, it has only conducted recruitment processes for nurses and midwives who have been given a job offer and a contract. But the figures were not revealed in this regard.
The NMBI had 2,283 registered nurses and midwives as of April 30. There were 2,227 from outside the European Union, with Zimbabwe accounting for 6%.
At the same time, Zimbabwe is preparing to introduce a law to prevent excessive foreign recruitment. In the last year, thousands of health workers have left the country. To prevent this, the government is planning to make foreign recruitment a criminal offence.
According to Zimbabwe Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, people are dying in the country’s hospitals due to a lack of nurses and doctors. Chiwenga compared the international recruitment of health workers to human trafficking. The Zimbabwe Medical Association reports that the country has only 3,500 doctors for a population of 15 million people.
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