Published May 4, 2021, 12:02 AM
The Philippines is the leading exporter of nurses worldwide with 85 percent of nurses trained in the Philippines working overseas, mostly in Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Migrant nurses contribute approximately $8 billion in remittances to the Philippine economy every year.
Despite the significant financial returns, this brain drain of world-class Filipino talent has also impaired the overall effectiveness of the country’s public health system.
In a bit of irony, the first person to administer the COVID-19 vaccine in the United Kingdom last December 2020 was a Filipina nurse, May Parsons, who has worked with the National Health Service for 24 years. Two other Filipina nurses, Charito Romano and Minnie Klepacz received the British Empire Medal (BEM) recently for their outstanding work to support their colleagues and the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.