Health professionals migration on symposium agenda

Representatives of health organisations from Commonwealth countries will meet next week as part of the Commonwealth People's Forum to discuss HIV and AIDS and the migration of health workers.

The symposium, Global Health - Networking For Better Outcomes, is being organised by the Commonwealth Dental Association, the Commonwealth Nurses Federation, the Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association and the Commonwealth HIV/Aids Action Group/Para 55.

Representatives of the Malta Chamber of Pharmacists, the Dental Association of Malta, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses and the Medical Association of Malta told a press conference yesterday that about 200 health professionals were expected to attend the symposium. MUMN president Rudolph Cini stressed the importance of teamwork among different medical disciplines, both on a national and international level.

Malta Chamber of Pharmacists president Mary Ann Sant Fournier noted there is a serious problem of migration from a number of Commonwealth countries to other countries. This was reiterated by the Medical Association of Malta's general secretary Martin Balzan, who said the phenomenon was also affecting Malta, with a number of doctors leaving these shores for pastures new.

The president of the Dental Association of Malta, Martha Fava, said the migration of workers was also present in dentistry.

A communiqué on the outcome of the symposium will be presented to the foreign ministers' meeting before the start of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting scheduled for November 25 and then to the Commonwealth Health Ministers' Meeting in Geneva in May.