Philippines sends nurses around the world but now its health care system is overwhelmed by coronavirus

The country’s death toll from Covid-19 has surged nearly fivefold since April 1 to 462, and the confirmed cases have tripled to 6,981. That’s despite President Rodrigo Duterte imposing a lockdown on the main island of Luzon until at least April 30.

With more Filipinos becoming sick, the consequences of a medical brain drain are weighing on the health care industry. There is an estimated shortage of 23,000 nurses nationwide, according to the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines. The situation is so severe that most Filipinos die without even seeing a medical professional, a lawmaker said. Meanwhile, about 150,000 Filipino nurses currently work in the US alone.

“It’s always on my mind: the fact that my daughter is a nurse in a foreign land in this time of pandemic when my own countrymen are just as, if not more, needful of her services,” said Gemma Borilla, 55, of Bulacan province, north of Manila. Her 32-year-old daughter works in Saudi Arabia.

The Philippines produced an annual average of about 26,000 licensed nurses from 2012 to 2016, while about 18,500 moved abroad each year during the same period, according to government data.

On April 2, the Philippines barred the overseas deployment of health workers to put more boots on the ground in the fight against coronavirus. But after pushback led by the country’s top diplomat, the government eased the ban so those workers with existing contracts could leave.

Better pay and working conditions are the main reason why nurses and doctors continue to leave. In January, as the virus started moving out of China, Duterte signed a law raising salaries for all government workers – including nurses – annually until 2023.

The Health Department started an emergency hiring programme for public and private facilities designated to handle Covid-19 cases. Among other things, it promises a 20 per cent premium over basic salaries set by the government, hospitalisation benefits, room and board, and even a payout of 1 million pesos (US$19,734) in the event of death.