The World Health Organisation Global Code of Practice and migration of health workers from Zimbabwe

The migration of health workers remains one of the most pressing challenges facing many countries in the global South. This short communication seeks to reignite debate on the effectiveness of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Code as a tool for managing the migration of health workers from the South. While the WHO Code was somewhat effective in reducing the migration of health workers from countries such as Zimbabwe during the first five years of its implementation, demand for health workers in the UK after Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the rate of migration of health workers from countries facing critical shortages. Clearly, new solutions are needed that strike a balance between the right of health workers in the South to migrate and the right of citizens in the region to a stable supply of health workers. Zimbabwe continues to lose health workers through migration Migration has weakened health service delivery in the country Adoption of the World Health Organisation Code has failed to reduce migration flows New global efforts needed to address the migration of health workers