According to a recently-released World Heath Organization (WHO) report, a severe shortage of health workers is endangering the health - and shortening the life expectancies - of individuals in many countries around the globe. WHO Assistant Director General Dr. Timothy Evans says in the report that "not enough health workers are being trained or recruited where they are most needed, and increasing numbers are joining a brain drain of qualified professions who are migrating to better-paid jobs in richer countries." In this installment of "By the Numbers," the Daily explores the report's results.
57 Countries in which there is a shortage of health workers, according to the World Health Organization
2/3 Percentage of those countries that are located in sub-Saharan Africa
3:100,000 Doctor-to-person ratio in Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone
256:100,000 Doctor-to-person ratio in the United States
1.3 billion People across the globe without "most forms of basic health care"
$17,000 Amount the average U.S. doctor earns per month
$540 Amount the average Zambian doctor earns per month
1 in 4 African doctors who leave to work in other countries
24% Percentage of "the world's disease burden" that Africa shoulders
3% Percentage of "the world's health-care workers" that live in Africa
1% Percentage of "world health-care spending" that occurs in Africa
10% Percentage of the aforementioned disease burden that the United States shoulders
37% Percentage of "the world's health-care workers" that live in the United States
50% Percentage of "world health-care spending" that occurs in the United States
33 years Life expectancy for an individual born between 2000 and 2005 in Zambia
77 years Life expectancy for an individual born in the United States during that time period
The information cited above comes from the WHO and the Chicago Tribune.
