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Lowest Paying Countries for Doctors. The current state of the global healthcare system, demonstrates a multimodal strategy for resolving urgent problems and advancing healthcare globally. This is as examined during the 2024 Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland
One of these issues is the low remuneration of medical practitioners. Stakeholders are in agreement that bridging the gap of disparity in the salary paid to male and female doctors. They are also reviewing the average salary paid to doctors in general is a key factor to consider too.
In the light of this, the top 10 lowest paying nations for physicians will be examined in this article.
We determined which countries offer the lowest minimum wages worldwide in order to compile this list of the lowest paying nations for physicians. We used World. Salaries website to get the average yearly salary of physicians in different nations. After careful consideration, the ten countries with the lowest average doctor salaries were chosen, and they are listed below in ascending order of salary.
Sudan
Average Salary: $1,899
Sudan’s low medical wages are caused by a confluence of factors including resource distribution, government priorities, and economic difficulties. Long-term economic instability has left the nation with little money for healthcare.
Conflicts and political upheaval have also taken funds away from vital services like healthcare. Government policies frequently place other industries ahead of healthcare, which has the effect of limiting funding for staff remuneration and medical facilities.
Furthermore, pay suppression is made worse by an overabundance of medical graduates vying for few available employment.
Sudan is the lowest paying country in the world for doctors due to a combination of these variables that result in disproportionately low earnings for doctors relative to other professions and worldwide standards. Sudan remains the #1 among the top 10 lowest paying countries
Ethiopia
Average Salary: $4,620
Ethiopia’s healthcare system constantly faces serious obstacles, most notably a severe scarcity of medical specialists.
With just 0.1059 doctors per 1,000 people, the nation is severely short-staffed. Moreover, the problem is made worse by a lack of training facilities, even with about thirty schools.
In addition to receiving low pay, healthcare professionals frequently take on many occupations in order to make ends meet, which increases their risk of burnout.
As a result, professionals look for chances overseas; each year, about 2,000 are thought to leave. The delivery of healthcare is compromised by this migration, which has serious repercussions including deaths and complications from a lack of supplies and equipment.
The government has committed to improving conditions and retaining qualified professionals by launching program like the National Health Equity Strategy in an effort to lessen the impact of this crisis.
Nigeria
Average Salary: $5,894
Nigerian physicians earn less than 10% of what their international peers make, putting them in a position where they are paid far less.
Although there have been some increases over time, Nigerian doctors’ average yearly wage is still quite modest. The majority of Nigerian doctors, according to data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), leave their home country to seek employment opportunities in nations such as the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, and Germany.
The difference in pay has exacerbated Nigeria’s medical professional shortage by contributing to brain drain. Medical professionals continue to be dissatisfied because fundamental problems such as inadequate pay, unfavourable working conditions, and a lack of infrastructure for providing healthcare still exist, despite attempts such as planned laws to stop migration.
Bangladesh
Average Salary: $6,970
The issue of poor doctor wages in Bangladesh has reached a boiling point, as trainee physicians have gone on an indefinite strike in protest of their lack of remuneration.
At the same time, about ten thousand medical students from government hospitals around the nation joined this initiative.
The walkout was started by the Postgraduate Private Trainee Doctors Association, who demanded a minimum allowance of Tk50,000 and consistent payment of that amount. They stress that they will not stop protesting until they receive official news that this demand has been met.
In contrast, trainee physicians in adjacent countries earn much larger allowances—1,50,000 Rupees in India and roughly 75,000 Pakistani Rupees in Pakistan, for example.
Dr. Jabir Hossain, the association’s president, emphasised the striking contrast by pointing out that student doctors in Bangladesh are paid the lowest salary in Asia—just Tk20,000.
The need to maintain a reasonable level of living in the face of rising commodity prices is the driving force behind the demand for a rise to Tk50,000.
Doctors currently struggle with meagre compensation despite intentions to provide top-notch medical services.
The student doctors have not yet witnessed encouraging actions done to meet their demands, despite contacting a number of medical organizations for assistance, such as the Bangladesh Medical Association and the Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Uganda
Average Salary: $7,200
Uganda being one of of the the top 10 lowest paying countries in the wotld; the predicament of doctors in Uganda is a reflection of a large workforce with inadequate pay. There are 500 newly qualified doctors entering the workforce each year, therefore there is a clear discrepancy between government recruitment and open posts. There are 4,000 open positions in public hospitals due to the government’s limited employment of 1,600 doctors.
Due to the poor circumstances, many highly qualified medical professionals are being forced to look for work overseas in order to increase their income.
Health activists are more concerned about the trend, particularly in light of the current strikes for higher wages. The Executive Director of ACHEST, Francis Omaswa, emphasises how urgent government action is to stop the brain drain and guarantee a sufficient number of healthcare workers.
The problem not only jeopardises regional healthcare services but also maintains worldwide disparities in the distribution of the medical personnel.
Zambia
Average Salary: $7,324
Salaries in Zambia are a serious problem, especially for public employees like doctors.
In addition to the alarmingly low salary, the Zambia Congress of Trade Union has expressed concern over a rise in labour unrest brought on by late payments.
According to recent reports, public employees—including those employed by local governments and universities—are not getting paid for a considerable amount of time. Work stoppages and increased employee strain have resulted from this.
Pakistan
Average Salary: $8,164
Despite their 24/7 hospital responsibilities, doctors in Pakistan—including medical officers, trainee medical officers, and home work doctors—have been contending with static earnings for a number of years.
Lately. Concerned about their poor salary, the Young Doctors’ Association in Peshawar has demanded parity with their colleagues in Islamabad. Also in Punjab, which are likewise, by world standards, lesser paid.
Turkey
Average Salary: $8,500
The number of doctors leaving Turkey is alarming. In 2023, 2,700 applied for jobs overseas, twice as many as the previous year and seventy-fold increase in 11 years. Turkey is losing vital medical personnel due to migration, which makes shortages in fields like pediatric neurology and oncology worse.
Poor income, long hours, and an increase in aggression against medical staff. 422 cases were reported in 2022 alone. These are some of the factors contributing to this brain drain.
Madagascar
Average Salary: $8,887
The healthcare system in Madagascar is among the top ten lowest paying countries for physicians. It is underfunded and under resourced, which limits the financial support available to medical practitioners.
To make matters worse, doctors graduate from medical school with massive debt due to the exorbitant expense of education.
A doctor may also make more or less than the average incomes displayed above. The pay for doctors varies greatly depending on your gender, location, experience, and skill set.
Is there a difference in pay between working in the public (government) and private sectors? This is another frequently asked query. In Madagascar, public sector workers make about 18% more money than those in the private sector for the same work.
Angola
Average Salary: $9,824
Doctors in Angola have significant wage issues; as a result, they are calling for improved working conditions.
After 20 children died as a result of shortages of medications and medical supplies in 2022. 5,600 doctors—representing the bulk of the profession—started strikes in 2022 to demand improvements. Doctors feel that concessions like a 6% pay rise are insufficient.
Learn about past histories online for Free
Conclusion
Having enough healthcare workers becomes a critical factor in nations’ efforts to fulfil the Sustainable Development Goals. And also to attain universal health coverage.
In order to accomplish this, healthcare professionals must be paid. Physicians in many nations make less money than those in less skilled and qualified professions. In those nations, doctors are frequently thought of as public servants who don’t need to be paid well.
The fact that doctors are paid the lowest in developing countries should not be shocking. Physicians in western nations like Australia and the United States get considerable salaries. But their counterparts in Africa and Asia struggle with inadequate pay.
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