Written question asked by Baroness Tonge (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 22 May 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 3 June 2003. It was answered by Hilary Benn (Labour) on Tuesday, 3 June 2003 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Dept for International Development

Question: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development, what discussions he has had with the Malawi Government regarding the emigration of (a) doctors and (b) nurses from Malawi.

Answer: Dr. Tonge: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what discussions he has had with the Malawi Government regarding the emigration of (a) doctors and (b) nurses from Malawi. [116409] Hilary Benn: None. However we are concerned about recruitment of trained medical personnel from developing countries. The Department of Health (DoH) introduced a Code of Practice in 2001 designed to prevent such recruitment. The DoH has listed particular countries from which active recruitment should be avoided. Malawi is one of these. DFID is working with DoH to ensure the Code is effective. However the Code of Practice is only applicable to NHS recruitment. Anecdotal evidence shows that UK private recruitment agencies continue to recruit from Malawi, and other countries on the DoH list. DFID is gathering evidence on the exact nature and scale of such recruitment to determine if action can be taken to reduce its impact.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 116409; 406 c277W
Session: 2002-03
Subjects: Codes of practice Developing countries Doctors Health professions Recruitment Nurses Malawi Emigration
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk