REVERSING THE BRAIN DRAIN: A study on the long-term return possibilities to Ghana of Ghanaian health professionals in the Diaspora

Abstract

This thesis was elaborated for the MSc International Development Studies for Utrecht University, and focuses on international migration, which has accelerated in recent years due to globalization, and has affected developing countries in various ways. The brain drain problem in Ghana has increasingly affected the health sector of the country, as many of the highly-skilled professional in the country have migrated to Europe and North America leaving the country with a great deficit in important professions of the country, particularly in the health sector. Taking into consideration this problem the main objective for this thesis is to address the long-term return possibilities to Ghana of Ghanaian health professionals that live in the diaspora. The research process took into consideration a transnational approach in order to analyze the motivations and constraints of health professionals and the health sector for their return to Ghana. In order to address the objectives of this thesis, a background will be provided on the migration-development nexus, a concept that has increasingly gain importance in terms of migration, demonstrating that migration can both create and hinder development possibilities. Throughout this thesis the various approaches within the transnationalism ideology will also be discussed, including transnational institutions, social spaces, and livelihoods. The thesis will utilized these approaches in the thesis in order to analyse the various issues related to the long-term return to Ghana of Ghanaian health professionals in the diaspora. Furthermore, throughout this thesis the various ways in which long-term returning health professionals benefit the health sector will be addressed. Particularly, in terms of the assistance they may provide to this sector with brain circulation, mainly through the building of social capital, capacity-building, and knowledge transfer initiatives. However, the results also demonstrate that despite the will and acknowledgement by the Ghanaian government of the valuable resources these migrants provide, there are limited transnational and institutional frameworks in place in order to facilitate the return of high-skilled migrants into the country. The thesis will conclude with presenting a series of recommendations for the elaboration of a program that would encourage long-term return and policy recommendation on return migration in the health sector for the Ghanaian government.