The International Migration of Health Workers

Published in the Routledge research in population and migration series, The International Migration of Health Workers addresses one of the most controversial yet important issues of our time—the migration of skilled health workers (SHW). John Connell's (editor) book offers an innovative analysis of the dynamics of the migration of SHW, presented in accessible and engaging manner drawing from various case studies. It is organized in thirteen chapters, with the editor giving a summative account of the rest of the chapters in chapter one which also forms the analytical grounding of the book. Chapter one captures the debate in the book by providing a picture of where human resources in health are most needed or what the author has termed “the geography of need” (p. 3). Regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, India, and China, where disease burden is high, are also the areas where human resources are most needed. The author then engages with the main subject of the book—migration of SHW—providing a lucid account of the main “losers” and “beneficiaries” of this migration. The reader is given an illuminating account of the main reasons behind SHW migration, the players facilitating these movements, and the consequences.