Underpaid Medical Professionals And Nurses Leave Africa For Canada

Nevielle Leinyuy was trained as a nurse, but he was unable to secure a well-paying position in the medical industry, so he spent nearly ten years working as a front desk receptionist in Cameroon. He gave up looking last year. He lives with his wife and kids in Canada, where he applied to nursing schools.

“They are taking us away from Cameroon,” said Leinyuy, 39. “We have to look for other options because we want to work in Cameroon, but there is no pay.”

One of the lowest ratios of health personnel to population is seen in Cameroon. According to Jacques Fame Ndongo, the minister of higher education, over one-third of the qualified physicians who completed medical school last year departed the nation.

For more lucrative positions in Europe and North America, a large number of doctors and nurses are emigrating from the West African nation. English and French are the official languages of both Canada and Cameroon.

Leinyuy claimed that working as a nurse in Cameroon would have brought in 60,000 CFA francs, or less than $100 per month.

He remarked, “Just picture what a father of three children and a wife would do with that.” “My house alone required 40,000 francs ($66) in rent.”

Health personnel are leaving Cameroon and other sub-Saharan African countries due to low compensation.

According to a 2023 study from the World Health Organization, about 75% of African countries still have medical personnel shortages and high rates of healthcare professionals leaving to work abroad, despite the fact that the number of health workers grew in numerous countries following the COVID pandemic.