Over 4,500 Healthcare Workers Have Applied for Immigration in the First 8 Months of This Year

The government newspaper of the Islamic Republic of Iran reported today that "in the first 8 months of this year, 4,500 more members of the healthcare staff have applied for immigration." Previously, it was announced that "7,000 doctors, nurses, and healthcare staff have also applied for immigration in the year 1402 (2023)." The official media of the Iranian government described the "migration of 11,500 healthcare staff members" in less than 2 years as a "bitter reality" that, "if not addressed soon," will lead to the "decline of the medical community and its harmful consequences at the national level." This issue has been repeatedly warned about by experts in recent years. Mohammad Sharifi-Moqaddam, the Secretary-General of the "Nurses' House," recently emphasized that "given the current dollar rate and the salaries of nurses in Iran, this job is not attractive at all." According to the Secretary-General of the Nurses' House, compared to European countries where nurses can earn between $4,000 to $10,000, Iranian nurses only receive $200 to $250, which is the main reason for immigration. Earlier, on September 4, the head of the "Nursing System Organization" stated that "the standards and indicators related to human resources" in the health sector are very low and warned that to compensate for the shortage of human resources, "nurses are forced into mandatory overtime," but "the payments are not commensurate with their services and the difficulty of their work." These warnings come as the government news agency IRNA also reported in April of this year about the crisis of doctor immigration and the problems arising from the shortage of doctors in the country. IRNA emphasized that the Iranian health system witnessed many events in the year 1402 that exacerbated the migration of doctors. IRNA also reported that the number of members of the Medical System Organization who obtained a "good standing" certificate for immigration increased from about 750 in 1397 (2018) to over 6,000 in 1401 (2022), indicating an increase of more than 8 times. The report also highlighted factors such as the lack of primary services, high unemployment, poor housing, low wages, limited career prospects, workplace violence, professional discrimination, lack of economic stability, administrative corruption, political instability, and the threat of war as influential factors in the migration of healthcare workers. Experts believe that good living services, low unemployment, better wages, good career prospects, better working conditions, and job satisfaction are important factors attracting these workers to destination countries. Overall, the migration of doctors and healthcare staff has made the situation of Iran's healthcare system very complex and convoluted, to the extent that the head of the Iranian Medical System Organization announced in December of last year the government's decision to accept children's heart surgeons with a diploma, stating that this is not a solution.