Page 17 - Manpower_Report2021_200524_eng

There is a global shortage of doctors

Figure I.

In 2030, the global needs-based shortage against SDG index threshold will reach:

2.3 million physicians

In 2030, 31 OECD countries shortfall against services requirements will reach:

1.2 million physicians

Source: World Health Organization, 2016
Image source: World Health Organization, 2016

In the context of growing professional mobility and market diversity, doctors have been pursuing better career opportunities
across international frontiers for decades. A pattern of migratory movement among the profession of doctors has been
observed from developing (i.e. Pakistan, India) to developed nations (i.e. United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), Australia)
and even from developed (i.e. United Kingdom) to other developed jurisdictions (i.e. Hong Kong, Australia, Canada) (Zubaran,
2012; Mullan, 2005). While this phenomenon has been growing and evolving for many years, this migratory movement is also
occurring against the backdrop of a global shortage of doctors. In 2016, a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) titled
Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030 projected healthcare workforce shortages over the coming
decades (World Health Organization, 2016). With reference to the model presented in the report, 31 Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries are projected to face a shortfall against service requirements of
1.2 million physicians by 2030. Furthermore, projections suggest that the global shortage against the Sustainable
Development Goal (SDG) index threshold will reach 2.3 million physicians at the same time.

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