Health Workforce Migration in the Asia Pacific: implications for the achievement of sustainable development goals

Main Article Content

Stephanie Short
Kanchan Marcus
Madhan Balasubramanian

Abstract

The maldistribution of health workers globally and within the Asia Pacific region remains problematic. While globalisation, and the increasing mobility of capital and labour, helps to reduce inequalities between countries, it increases inequality within countries. This study examines health workforce data and densities in the Asia Pacific region through a health workforce migration lens. The main implication relevant to achievement of sustainable development goals is the need for countries to work in a co-ordinated way in this region to increase substantially health financing and the recruitment, development, training and retention of the health workforce in developing countries, especially in least developed countries and small island developing states, most notably the Maldives, Timor- Leste, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.


Abbreviations: OECD – Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development; SDG – Sustainable Development Goals; SIDS – Small Island Development States.

Article Details

How to Cite
Short, S., Marcus, K., & Balasubramanian, M. (2016). Health Workforce Migration in the Asia Pacific: implications for the achievement of sustainable development goals. Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.24083/apjhm.v11i3.157
Section
Research Articles
Author Biographies

Stephanie Short, University of Sydnedy

Deputy Director, Sydney Asia Pacific Migration Centre
Faculty of Health Sciences
The University of Sydney
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Kanchan Marcus, University of Sydnedy

Health Systems & Global Populations Faculty
Research Group
Faculty of Health Sciences
The University of Sydney
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Madhan Balasubramanian, University of Sydnedy

Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health,
School of Dentistry
Faculty of Health Sciences,
The University of Adelaide
Adelaide, South Autralia, Autralia.

Discipline of Behavioural and Social Sciences in Health,
Faculty of Health Sciences,
The University of Sydney
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.