Alarming Brain Drain Trend

ISLAMABAD: A alarming news has emerged for Pakistan’s medical sector that more than a thousand Pakistani doctors have settled in the United States permanently in search of a better future. The figures released by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) indicate a dangerous trend of brain drain in the country.

This problem is not limited to doctors, but skilled people from engineering, information technology (IT), education, research and other important sectors are also visiting other countries in large numbers. However, since the field of medicine directly belongs to human life and health, the constant deficiency of specialist doctors is a serious problem.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) standards, there should be at least one doctor for a thousand patients, but only one doctor is available for more than 1300 patients due to shortage of doctors in Pakistan. In addition, factors such as the clear difference of medical facilities in the urban and rural areas, the lack of expert doctors and the absence of modern medical equipment and technology are already causing major problems in the country’s health sector.

In such a situation, if a large number of capable doctors of the country move abroad, it will be almost impossible to fill this gap.

It is required by the government of Pakistan to immediately recognize this serious situation and provide doctors working in the medical sector with appropriate salaries, modern medical facilities, and continuous opportunities for advancement. In this way, these experts can be encouraged to stay in their homeland and serve their country and nation. If the issue is not given timely attention, the country’s medical system may be further weakened, which will directly affect the health of ordinary citizens.