MUTARE, Zimbabwe: Struggling to survive on her meagre salary, Zimbabwean nurse Jane decided to start a new life abroad but, one year after landing a job in Britain, she is still waiting to pack her bags.
Jane is not alone. Zimbabwean nurses eager to escape deepening poverty say their government is barring them from pursuing opportunities overseas as it seeks to stem a brain drain of health workers.
"The government is holding me to ransom now," said Jane, 35, who only used her first name for fear of reprisals.
"I'm really worried I might not be able to leave," added the single mother-of-three who can no longer afford to eat lunch as sky-high inflation sabotages her finances.
Nurses say the authorities are frustrating their efforts to migrate by failing to provide a crucial document confirming their professional status without which they cannot take up overseas jobs.
The Health Ministry took over the issuing of "verification letters" early last year from the Nurses Council of Zimbabwe - the profession's regulatory body – which used to turn them around within days.
Unions in the southern African country estimate that thousands of nurses are affected.
Simbarashe Tafirenyika, president of the Zimbabwe Urban and Rural Council Nurses Workers Union, said some ministry officials were exploiting the situation by demanding hefty bribes to expedite documents.
The government, which has also doubled the document application fee to $300, did not respond to requests for comment, but ministers have repeatedly voiced concern over the exodus of doctors and nurses abroad.
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who has announced plans to criminalise the foreign recruitment of health staff, says it is wrong that Zimbabwe spends vast sums training health workers only for them to be poached by richer countries.
But nurses say it is unfair for the government to stop them leaving when many of them earn less than $100 a month.
RED LIST
More than 4,000 health workers, including more than 2,600 nurses, left Zimbabwe in 2021 and 2022, according to official statistics.
Traditional destinations include Canada, Australia and Britain where the starting salary for a nurse is about £28,400 ($34,490).
The World Health Organization this year added Zimbabwe to a "red list" of countries with pressing health worker shortages.
In 2020, Zimbabwe had 2.1 nurses and midwives per 1,000 people, less than a quarter of the number in Britain, according to the latest World Bank data.
Britain, which relies heavily on overseas trained nurses to plug its own staff shortages, has stopped actively recruiting from Zimbabwe. However, this does not prevent nurses applying for jobs directly.
More than 4,330 nurses trained in Zimbabwe are registered with Britain's Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
A spokeswoman for NMC said it was aware of the issue with verification letters in Zimbabwe although some were still coming through.
Union president Tafirenyika said nurses were also migrating without verification letters to do non-nursing jobs.
He said some were even taking short first aid courses in order to get an internationally recognised "nurse aid" certificate - a route to less skilled jobs in health and social care.
STRIKE BAN
Jane, who has 10 years' experience, works at a hospital in the capital Harare. But her $200 monthly salary does not cover her bills so she also sells clothes and perfumes online.
Other nurses she knows juggle hospital shifts with selling clothes and groceries illegally on the streets where they are often chased by police.
"They endure all this to put food on the table," Jane said. "Some nurses spend the whole day without eating anything at work."
A significant problem for nurses is that their salary is paid in a mix of US dollars and Zimbabwean dollars.
With most shops and businesses charging in US dollars, nurses have to convert the portion paid in local currency, which has plunged in value this year.
Jane said 5% of her salary vanished in bank charges and a quarter went on commuting to and from her home in Harare's outskirts.
Thousands of nurses and doctors went on strike last year demanding a major pay raise and calling for their wages to be paid entirely in US dollars.
In January, Zimbabwe banned healthcare workers from striking for more than three days, introducing penalties of up to six months in jail.
PATIENTS PAY FOR OWN DRUGS
Nurses said they were also frustrated working in a broken health system with little opportunity to further their careers.
Hospitals not only lack equipment, including ventilators and X-ray machines, but even painkillers and rubber gloves can be in short supply.
Nurses said patients often had to buy their own drugs.
"The situation is really pitiful," said Jane. "There's no equipment for some procedures leading to a lot of cancellations.
"Women are delivering babies without linen and have to sleep on the floor after giving birth. There is no lignocaine (local anaesthetic) if they need stitches so they have to buy it themselves."
Tanaka, 28, who works at another Harare hospital, is also demoralised.
"It's tough to ask patients to buy their own drugs - imagine, even paracetamol!" she said.
"We work without PPE (protective clothing). I fear for my health. Enough is enough."
Tanaka had hoped to relocate to Britain in the summer after receiving a job offer last year but is still awaiting her verification letter.
"I was afraid when they said they want to bring in a law to bar us from going. That is scary," said Tanaka, who only gave her first name.
Migrating is not cheap. She has already spent $1,200 on taking a professional exam required to be able to work in Britain and on other expenses.
She also needs to pay for an English language test and TB test but has put these on hold amid uncertainty over whether the government will issue her document.
Tanaka, who has a 5-year-old daughter, knows life in Britain is expensive - average monthly rents top £2,000 in parts of London - but she says she cannot afford to stay in Zimbabwe.
"I take home a paltry $200. It's not enough to feed my family or even buy clothes for my kid. I have no choice," she said.
Reuters
Fri Nov 10 2023
Nurses say the authorities are frustrating their efforts to migrate by failing to provide a crucial document confirming their professional status without which they cannot take up overseas jobs. - BERNAMA/Filepic
Pulau Pinang, kerajaan pusat bekerjasama tarik pelaburan semikonduktor
Kerajaan Pulau Pinang akan bekerjasama dengan Kerajaan Persekutuan untuk meneruskan usaha menarik pelaburan dalam sektor semikonduktor, termasuk segmen reka bentuk litar bersepadu (IC) di negeri itu.
Rakyat Malaysia di Jordan jadi duta produk PMKS negara
Menteri Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi Datuk Ewon Benedick menyarankan rakyat Malaysia yang menetap di Jordan supaya memainkan peranan sebagai “duta” untuk mempromosikan produk perusahaan mikro kecil dan sederhana (PMKS) SERTA koperasi negara.
Mohamed Khaled tiba di Indonesia, dijadual bertemu Prabowo
Menteri Pertahanan Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin tiba di Jakarta hari ini untuk lawatan kerja rasmi sulung beliau ke Indonesia sejak memegang jawatan itu.
SPRM mohon maklumat dari Jerman
Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) memohon maklumat terkini daripada pihak berkuasa Jerman mengenai dana bon 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) yang dipercayai digunakan untuk membeli kereta mewah di negara itu pada 26 Okt 2022.
SPRM siasat pemimpin kanan di utara tanah air
Seorang pemimpin kanan di utara tanah air disiasat Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) kerana disyaki melantik beberapa syarikat yang mempunyai kepentingan dengannya membabitkan beberapa projek pembekalan melibatkan peruntukan kira-kira RM300,000.
Kembangkan kandungan tempatan melalui AI
Menurut Setiausaha Agung Organisasi Kerjasama Digital (DCO) Deemah Al Yahya, terdapat 2.7 peratus daripada penduduk dunia tidak berhubung malah tidak mempunyai sambungan asas internet. Beliau turut berkata infrastruktur pengkomputeran setiap negara perlu mempunyai kemampuan untuk mengembangkan kandungan tempatan khususnya yang melibatkan penggunaan AI.
AI tidak dapat ganti guru
Menteri Pendidikan Rwanda, Gaspard Twagirayezu berkata kepesatan teknologi AI dalam pendidikan tidak dapat menggantikan guru malah membantu guru dalam menyediakan bahan pengajaran yang bermanfaat kepada pelajar.
Berita tempatan pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Berikut adalah berita yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Ahad, 28 April 2024.
Mesyuarat Khas WEF: Dunia perlukan persaingan sihat dalam transisi ke Orde Baharu - Menteri Luar Arab Saudi
Menteri Luar Negeri Arab Saudi, Putera Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud berkata dunia memerlukan persaingan sihat dalam transisi daripada Orde Dunia Lama kepada Orde Baharu. Jelasnya, persaingan ini akan memberi manfaat dalam bentuk kos pengeluaran lebih rendah, perkembangan inovasi dan pelaburan lebih baik. #MesyuaratKhasWEF #WEF
Mesyuarat Khas WEF: Dunia saling tidak percaya akibat kebergantungan dipersenjatakan - Naib Presiden Suruhanjaya Eropah
Naib Presiden Suruhanjaya Eropah, Josep Borrell Fontelles berkata fenomena hilang kepercayaan yang melanda komuniti antarabangsa ketika ini adalah akibat kebergantungan yang dipersenjatakan oleh beberapa pihak. Jelasnya, situasi ini boleh membawa kepada pengasingan negara-negara tertentu dari pentas global, seterusnya menghambat pelaksanaan agenda antarabangsa. #MesyuaratKhasWEF #WEF
100 gajah mati di Zimbabwe akibat kemarau
Sekurang-kurangnya 100 ekor gajah mati di Taman Negara Hwange di Zimbabwe akibat kemarau yang disebabkan oleh El Nino, kata kumpulan kebajikan dan pemuliharaan haiwan antarabangsa pada Isnin.
FIFA tarik balik penggantungan Zimbabwe
Penggantungan itu dikenakan lebih setahun lalu selepas FIFA melihat campur tangan kerajaan dalam pentadbiran sukan itu.
Reformasi tanah tidak dapat dihalang - Presiden Zimbabwe
Beliau berkata Barat menentang sekeras-kerasnya pembaharuan itu, dan mengenakan sekatan ekonomi terhadap negara itu.
COVID-19 terus hantui Zimbabwe
Dua kematian direkodkan minggu lalu sebagaimana berlaku pada minggu sebelumnya.
Piala Dunia Hoki Remaja Wanita: M'sia tamat saingan di tempat ke-11
Pasukan kendalian Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim itu terpaksa bangkit dua kali sebelum berjaya menewaskan skuad Zimbabwe.
Varian Omicron: Indonesia kenakan sekatan ke atas 8 negara Afrika
Indonesia telah mengenakan sekatan ke atas semua pengembara dari lapan negara Afrika, berkuat kuasa Isnin berikutan varian baharu COVID-19, B.1.1.529 atau dikenali Omicron.
Sembilan maut akibat ribut Eloise
Sekurang-kurangnya sembilan orang terbunuh di bandar Beira, Mozambique selepas ribut Eloise membadai kawasan itu pada Ahad.
Zimbabwe siasat kematian 22 gajah
Jumlah gajah yang mati meningkat kepada 22 ekor dari Ahad hingga Selasa dan penyebab kematian masih misteri.
Presiden Zimbabwe suarakan kebimbangan terhadap lonjakan kes COVID -19
Beliau menggesa masyarakat supaya berhenti melindungi individu yang kembali dari luar negara yang berhasrat melarikan diri daripada, atau tidak melepasi pusat kuarantin.
Zimbabwe berdepan krisis air bersih seiring ancaman penularan COVID-19
Selain berjaga-jaga terhadap jangkitan COVID-19, mereka juga terpaksa berdepan dengan kelaparan dan akses air.