Concept Note
The world of work is witnessing a fast-paced transformation across sectors and industries. While almost every sector has been adversely impacted by shifts and evolving trends in global demand and supply, the healthcare sector has been positively impacted. Over the years, there has been a rapid increase in the demand for healthcare workers across the globe, triggered by ageing societies, population growth, and an increase in chronic disease prevalence. In addition, the global pandemic has also exacerbated the pressure on healthcare systems around the world and brought a sharp focus on the global shortage of healthcare workers.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the shortage of healthcare workers is expected to reach 18 million by 2030.1 Along with the core healthcare professionals, a need for allied care providers like nurses and palliative care2 specialists is anticipated. Every year, approximately 40 million people require palliative care which involves a range of services delivered by professionals, including physicians, nurses, support workers, paramedics, physiotherapists, pharmacists and volunteers3. Furthermore, increasing global prevalence of chronic diseases has added to the rise in demand for healthcare professionals.4 With an escalated need for healthcare related services, India can leverage the existing competencies and skill sets of its highly qualified healthcare professionals to fill the critical healthcare worker shortages across countries.
As a leading country of origin for well qualified physicians and nurses, India is well positioned to provide a globally skilled health workforce. The demand for Indian health professionals has risen in recent years, as seen by the active recruitment of Indian nurses in countries like, Saudi Arabia, Malta, UAE, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, etc.5 This trend is also reflected in the fact that a Kerala state run recruiting agency6, has reported employing 253 nurses abroad in February 2021, much higher from an average of 40 a month.7
The global policy landscape is also favourable for the healthcare sector, as witnessed in policy changes being affected by destination countries. According to a recent OECD report highlighting the importance of migrant health workers, several OECD countries have taken measures to ease the entry of health workers and have encouraged health-worker migration8.
The United Kingdom which already has a high proportion of Indian doctors in the National Health Service (NHS) announced a fast-tracked visa for medical professionals in November 2019 to address shortages in the country’s NHS.9 Further, in March 2020, Spain initiated a coordinated action for the immediate hiring of international health workers.10
The preceding paragraphs indicate that international market is conducive for movement of Indian workers in the health sector. If India is to fully tap this potential, it will have to ensure that supply meets the global demand. In order to do this, there still are challenges that need to be addressed. Skill matching in line with international standards; allowing transparency in recognition of cross-border qualifications; ensuring equal working conditions for migrant health workers in the countries of destination are some of the areas that require focused attention. To maintain a steady supply of health workers both at home and abroad, India is already geared towards strengthening its health system capacity through greater investment in health infrastructure and medical education. The Government of India’s budget allocation for health and wellbeing in 2021-22 was increased by 137% from the year 2020-21’s budget.11 Further, there has been major thrust on enhancing the capacity of nurse training programs across India, as evident by the data gathered from the Indian Nursing Council, which states an increase of 3.07% from the previous year.12
The opportunity in the global healthcare sector for the Indian health workers is huge and the Government of India aspires to work on policies that promote their mobility. Against this backdrop, the India Centre for Migration (ICM) is organising a virtual panel discussion titled, “Health Sector Mobility from India: India’s Contribution in Creating a Global Health Workforce” which will be aimed at (but not limited to) discussing the following:
Objectives