World Bank Report on CARICOM Nursing Shortage

According to the new World Bank report released last week ~ “The Nurse Labor and Education Markets in the English-Speaking CARICOM - Issues and Options for Reform,” the region is facing a rapidly growing shortage of nurses as demand for quality health care increases due to an aging population, and high numbers of nurses emigrate drawn by higher paying jobs in Canada, the UK and the US. The data indicates that approximately 21,500 CARICOM trained nurses are working in Canada, the UK and the US; three times higher than the workforce in the CARICOM region itself. Just between 2002 and 2006 alone, more than 1,800 nurses left the region to work abroad.
Click on the title to read the World Bank Press Release and note the key policy recommendations to try to address and reverse this situation.

Crisis In The Health Sector Of Caribbean Countries

Crisis In The Health Sector Of Caribbean Countries: The Impact Of Trade
Liberalization And The Movement Of Labour On Health Services In The
CARICOM, March 2008
Conference paper by
Marjorie Charles, PhD (University of the West Indies)
"This paper examines the impact of migration of nurses on the health sector in the CARICOM region and implications for policy making. It also examines the extent to which domestic regulation in the health sector can be used as a tool for policy making."[from abstract]
Click on the title for access to the full text article.