The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell expressed concern about “brain drain” in an address to the permanent council of the Organisation of American States yesterday.

He called on the international body to assist in establishing long-term measures that would mitigate against the problem.

His comments came as he wrapped up a specially called session in which he defended the government’s controversial immigration policy, which came into effect on November 1.

“While the challenges of irregular migration and benefits of regular migration in the Americas are clear, perhaps more important as a discussion focus for this forum, and less discussed generally nowadays, is the contemporary phenomenon of brain drain and its associated negative externalities,” he said.

“It has become taboo in some corners to speak of the negative impact of brain drain on the developing world, however, the ongoing deleterious impacts, particularly on small developing countries, is also abundantly clear. This is the other excess that we as a region must contend with.”

Mr Mitchell said the Caribbean as a region loses more of its educated labour force than any other region. He said that between 60 per cent to 90 per cent of the skilled population of the region migrate to other countries.

“The cumulative effect of loss of the ‘best and brightest’ has the potential to further exacerbate existing levels of poverty and inequality in society in home countries,” he said.

Mr Mitchell said many of the professionals that leave the region, including nurses, doctors, teachers and engineers, remain under supplied in the Caribbean.

“Additionally, for many of our countries the brain drain also signifies lost social investment which can come in the form of government investments into health care and education through the provision of primary and secondary schooling and tertiary funding, and these prior social investments form a considerable as a percentage of GDP in many Caribbean countries,” he said.

He added: “As with the challenge of irregular migration, there is a need to focus on long-term drivers and push factors, on diminishing the hallmarks of often uneven and under - development, which continue to plague our member states and which provide catalysts for migration. In order to ensure more retention of top human capital and attraction of those aboard back home, our governments must redouble efforts at bolstering development particularly with a view to providing access to local tertiary education facilities, economies that provide sustained and diverse job opportunities and safe and vibrant communities in which citizens can live.”