The medical “brain drain” has been described as rich countries “looting” doctors and nurses from developing countries undermining their health systems and public health. However this might also be seen as a success in the training and “export” of health professionals and the benefits this provides. A closer look at the evidence for and against the medical “brain-drain” in Malawi suggests that there are potential gains in managing medical migration to produce outcomes that are beneficial to individuals, households and the country.

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Malawi opened a battle to reduce its high number of maternal deaths during childbirth, pledging to reduce the rate of 984 deaths for every 100,000 live births by 75 percent by 2015. A $2 million program, financed in part by the World Health Organization and the European Union, will address what the Health Ministry called “a national emergency.” One of Africa’s poorest nations, Malawi suffers from an acute shortage of medical workers, many of whom migrate to work in Europe, and a lack of emergency facilities. Only Sierra Leone and Afghanistan have higher rates of death during childbirth.

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