Mutually Beneficial Immigration is Key to Global Healthcare Sustainability

Abstract

It is estimated that this unequal world we live in, will need 80 million health workers to meet the demands of the global population by the end of the decade, double the number in 2013.1,2 The population distribution across the globe is skewed (Fig 1) with high densities in Africa, South Asia and South America which characteristically remains mismatched to their gross domestic product and net wealth, which is enjoyed by nations with the least population densities (Fig 2). Healthcare provision within geo-politically separated nation-states continues to be driven by local social, political and economic factors. Therefore, the adage of ‘no size fits all’ is applicable. No two countries have the same healthcare system, anywhere in the world, we know today. Yet the desire to achieve ‘Health for All’ should be universal.3 Implementation of the fundamental principle that health promotion and prevention must be prioritised before the resource intense diagnosis and management of maladies, is believed to be the only way to achieve any form of sustainability in healthcare provision.