The main weakness of Africa, in terms of the necessary move to the economic development, is the lack of a strong
manpower of local, highly qualified individuals, engineers and academics. For many reasons, including their persecution
by local rulers allergic to any uncontrollable intellectual authority and to unauthorized speech, African ?brains? flee
towards Western countries in search of greener pastures. It is unquestionable that every individual, including above all
the ?brains?, is free to seek bliss wherever s/he can find it. However, once achieved, that happiness may be saddened by
the only news of hunger, diseases and despair received from the mother continent Africa. Therefore, instead of
committing one?s entire life to help fostering the development of a country of asylum that is already developed, the first
priority should be reserved to solutions that maintain a link of help to Africa. It would be very useful, if not essential, for
an MD that fled from his African country to primarily seek positions with international organizations in order to
officiate as a doctor in Africa (not necessarily in the African country of origin) instead of taking a position in a hospital in
her/his country of asylum. All considerations factored, a ?brain? that secures a contract with an international
organization enjoys in Africa a buying power higher than the one s/he could ever get for the same post in her/his Western
country of asylum. The African Diaspora of highly qualified individuals is likely to remain the only resource that can
operate the move of Africa to economic development. This Diaspora can achieve this historical change only if every
highly qualified worker, engineer or academic links her/his conception of bliss to African development.

More than 20 thousand "brains" each year

by Mika Lom
Sud Quotidien daily newspaper (Dakar)
published on the Web on December 12, 2002

The phenomenon of the brains drain does not worry only the Senegaleses. It is one the diaries at the level
of some authorities of the African Union. The recent Conference of the African Ministers for the education
(Minedaf VIII), held in Dar-Es-Salam from December 2 to December 6, 2002 had once again brought
the question on the table, following the work of the Economic Commission of the United Nations for
Africa, recently held in Addis-Abéba.

This commission estimates between 10.000 and 20.000 highly qualified people who leave the continent
each year to make money from their competences elsewhere. All things considered, between 1960 and
1975 nearly 27.000 brains fled the continent and the manpower reached even 40.000 between 1975 and
1984.

The World Bank estimated that the number of highly qualified people fleeing the continent was much
higher than it is thought. According to the international financial institution they are 23.000 academics and
some 50.000 managers who emigrate each year towards Western countries. The figures presented by all
and sundry show that the rate of exit of the brains and people highly qualified in Africa accelerates. And
the most shared estimate is that "the African intellectual Diaspora represents 30 % of the highly qualified
population of people existing on the continent".

The United States of America and France constitute the main destinations of the African brains in escape.
The document of the economic Commission of the United Nations treating the question mentioned figures
of 55.320 brains, all African origins included, which fled the continent in 1993, versus 57.965 in 1995 and
59.788 in 1997, which represented 4 % of the total of highly qualified aliens in service abroad.

Sub-Saharans are more numerous and more qualified.

South-Saharan Africans account for 36.122 over the general total for the year 1993, versus 38.037 for
the year 1995 and 40.137 per 1997, which represents a total of 2,6 %. These figures indicate an increase
of almost 1000 people leaving the continent annually. Over this total number of brains migrating towards
foreign countries, France received 366 in 1997 versus higher numbers of 604 in 1998 and 1079 in 1999.
Of this manpower the Sub-Saharans are estimated at 102 people having emigrated towards France in
1997 or 5 % of the total, versus 181 in 1998 or 8,5 %, and 307 in 1999 or 10 %.

What should be noted, according to the investigation made public by the economic Commission of the
United Nations, is that the Sub-Saharan African migrants on average have a level of qualification much
higher than those coming from the other developing countries.

However, the impact on the stock of human resources varies from one country to another. In countries
like South Africa the phenomenon is so acute that it disrupts all data. The South-African Diaspora
represents nearly 50.000 highly qualified individuals, versus a similar population of 1.250.000 people
remained in the country according to the census carried out in 1996. The South-African Diaspora thus
represents 4 % of the total of this manpower of highly qualified people.

Ghana is one the countries seriously affected by the phenomenon of the brains drain because there is
between 600 and 700 Ghanean doctors who currently officiate in the United States. This manpower
represents half the number of doctors currently existing in the country.

In Nigeria, the total of brains in escape is estimated at 10.000 academics whereas those having stayed in
the country would hardly exceed 15.300. This is to say that this escape dangerously compromises the
efforts of development of African countries.

Compared with the average of brains in escape in some countries, Senegal seems far from the threshold
of the catastrophe since its annual rate of loss of brains hardly reaches or exceeds 10 individuals per
annum. Whereas countries like Nigeria and Ghana record more than one hundred highly qualified
individuals.