The International Labour Organization (ILO) stated this week that there is a lack of 10, 3 million healthcare workers in order to guarantee a good quality medical attention in an international level.

In a report published during this week, the international organization alleged that this is a very serious problem, particularly in poorer countries, where approximately 90% of the population has no access to medical care.

A country needs an average of 41, 1 healthcare workers every 10.000 inhabitants. Countries such as Haiti or Sierra Leona hay 5 or less healthcare workers for the amount of people mentioned. Countries such as Finland have 269 healthcare workers every 10.000 inhabitants.

ILO assures that the continent with the greatest need for healthcare workers is Asia, with 7, 1 million, followed by Africa, which would need to employ another 2, 8 million workers to reach the minimum amount recommended.

It has been highlighted in the report that “the good news is that public investment in healthcare protection may help to close this gap, while creating benefits for those who need it as well as for the entire economy.”

“Inadequate salaries have caused negative consequences, such as a higher absenteeism, informal payment petitions and brain drains as workers search for better salaries in foreign countries” added spokesmen from ILO.

The organization has pointed out that “in other to close such gaps there is a need for coherent protection policies that improve assistance’s quality, making it available for everybody”.

The report concludes by stating that “successful policies include decent labour conditions and salaries”.