The problem I didn’t know existed: There are unemployed doctors in Malawi. Fewer students want to go into medicine because finding a job upon graduation is uncertain. I’ve heard about the shortage of doctors in Sub-Saharan Africa and I always assumed it was because of the ever blamed “brain drain” in combination with a lack of medical school graduates- not enough medical schools and primary and secondary school programs failing to prepare students for medical school. These are significant and contributing problems- but having unemployed doctors never even crossed my mind. Countries send doctors to these places in an attempt to fill the human resources gap but what is this gap truly caused by?

The reason (from what I’ve gathered so far): The government does not have enough money to pay the doctors. In fact, many of the doctors or nurses who are employed are not always paid consistently.

The solution: Complicated. Multi-faceted. Far beyond what I can come up with.

My thoughts: Either the government needs more money to be able to set up and fund hospitals or individual citizens need to make enough money to be able to pay for treatments in a self-sustaining hospital model. Preferably both. This means decreasing corruption, increasing GDP, and empowering communities to take ownership of their own clinics. All easier said than done.

How: Carefully. Here again I have no answer, but rather a naive hope. As we work towards solutions I think it is important that the cries for reform and development are coming from the people they will affect. It is important that outside organizations and governments continue consciously taking on the role of partner, not initiator.

So this is a hope for cries, cries for reform and cries for a solution beyond the status quo.