Wealthy countries’ access to foreign nurses raises ethical concerns across Omicron – group By Reuters

Author: Emma Farge

GENEVA (Reuters) – The wave of Omicron-driven COVID-19 infections has led rich countries to increase the recruitment of nurses in some of the world’s poorest places, leading to a severe shortage of staff in the workforce, according to the International Council of Nurses.

With sickness, incarceration and staff departures as Omicron cases have risen, absenteeism rates have risen to unprecedented levels in a two-year pandemic, said Howard Catton, director of the Geneva team, which represents 27 million nurses and 130 national organizations.

To fill the gap, Western countries have responded by hiring military personnel and volunteers and retirees, but many have also stepped up international recruitment as part of a growing trend in health inequality, he continued.

“We’ve seen a steady increase in international recruitment in places like the UK, Germany, Canada and the United States,” Catton said in an interview with Reuters, based on a report he wrote about COVID-19 and the global nursing force.

“I’m really afraid that this ‘quick fix’ – similar to what we are seeing with PPE (personal protective equipment) and vaccines, where rich countries have used it to buy and collect their economic strength – if they do that. Nursing staff will make the difference even worse.”

Even before the pandemic, there was a global shortage of 6 million nurses, almost 90% of whom were in low- and middle-income countries, according to ICN data.

Recent recruitment for rich countries has come from sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, and parts of the Caribbean, Catton said, with nurses often driven by higher wages and better conditions than at home.

The ICN report said the process was also being facilitated by giving nurses a priority immigration status.

“The bottom line is that some people would look into this and say that rich countries are eliminating the costs of educating new nurses and health workers,” he said.

Wealthy countries will also struggle to tackle the “mountains of week-long delays in care” when the pandemic ends, Catton warned, calling for more investment and a ten-year plan to strengthen workers.

“We need a coordinated, collaborative and concerted global effort that supports serious investment, not just warm words and applause and applause,” he said.