The term diaspora is heavily used in context of human migration. It refers to immigrants whose identity and sense of belonging have been shaped by their migration experience and they identify with a “homeland”, but live outside of it.1 The medical diaspora originating from Arab countries is huge, rich, and diversified. Western counties host a sizable number of skilled Arab health professionals while some exist in other destinations. Lack of meaningful data obscures a nuance picture on the size and dynamics of the Arab Medical Diaspora. Over the years, the Arab medical diaspora has demonstrated interest and commitment to contribute to their countries of origin and the Arab World at large. There are myriads of examples on contributions including through individual and collective efforts.2 Yet, a remarkable observation is that the Arab Medical Diaspora remains a lost opportunity for a large-scale systematic support to their countries of origin. Diaspora contribution is direly needed at a time when health workforce challenges are crippling health systems and compromising healthcare in the region.3 In a note of hope, the Arab League is organizing a conference later this year on mobilizing the Arab Medical Diaspora. This is indeed a desired and timely effort to discuss this topical issue. The onus is to integrate the medical diaspora into the efforts of supporting healthcare, professional education, and capacity strengthening in the region. The Arab League initiative, however, needs to learn from past experiences to address the organizational, systemic, and contextual barriers for diaspora contribution.4,5 A key factor in this respect is the need for institutions within the Arab World that spearhead, coordinate, and enable a sustained diaspora engagement. One such institution is the Arab Borad of Health Specializations (the Arab Board) which is well suited for a fruitful partnership with the Arab Medical Diaspora. The regional positioning and the mandate as serving all Arab countries put the Arab Board at great advantage in context of diaspora mobilization. Additionally, the Arab Board is implementing a transformative strategy renovating governance, accreditation, training, and assessment; and unleashing the potential of digital transformation.6 Based on these realities, the Arab Board can develop a framework for diaspora contribution indicating areas of expected engagement and support by diaspora professionals. Both global and regional contexts are encouraging for a successful Arab Board diaspora engagement program. The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel7 represents a useful instrument and has supported country efforts in addressing migration.8 Partnership with UN agencies such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and WHO is pertinent in this respect. At the regional level, the interest of the Arab League represented by the Council of Arab Ministers of Health is a blessing. The Arab Board is encouraged to seize this opportunity to establish an effective and sustainable diaspora engagement program. The Arab Medical Diaspora on the other side can utilize this partnership to lend its invaluable support to health professions education and healthcare in the Arab World. Time is opportune and the upcoming conference is expected to mark a new area in this type of fruitful partnership.
Badr et al. (Mon,) studied this question.