Shortage of aid workers

People are dying from communicable diseases in developing countries because there is a shortage of aid workers, said a World Health Organization (WHO) official.

Residents in India are giving up treatment because of the lack of medical staff available, Reuters reported.

There can be as few as one nurse for every 1,000 patients in India, compared with 11 nurses per 1,000 in Europe.

Doctors and nurses in Africa could be dying from HIV/Aids, malaria, TB and other diseases sparking shortages.

Concerns were that medical staff were also going abroad to seek larger salaries.

Reuters quoted pay of $3 (£1.69) a day for a nurse taking care of 400 patients in Malawi.

Ezekiel Nukuro, an official with the WHO, said: "Health systems [in developing countries] are on the brink of collapse due to the lack of skilled personnel."

Eight million lives are lost in African health systems each year, said Rotmi Sankore in an opinion column for aid agency Fahamu.

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