250,000 Arab health professionals work abroad as region seeks to tap expertise: Minister

Around 250,000 Arab health professionals are working outside the region, according to estimates cited at a conference in Cairo on Wednesday, as Arab governments seek to develop a strategy to harness their expertise and strengthen healthcare systems across the region.

Egyptian Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar made the remarks at the opening of the second Arab Conference on the Role of Expatriate Health Professionals, held on November 11-12 at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.

The conference is discussing the implementation of an Arab strategy aimed at connecting doctors, scientists and other health professionals working abroad with healthcare systems across the region.

Abdel Ghaffar said the challenge should not be confined to limiting the migration of skilled health workers, but should also involve turning migration into an opportunity for knowledge and technology transfer, professional training, scientific research and improved healthcare services.

He stressed that the strategy should be assessed according to its ability to deliver tangible improvements in healthcare systems, develop the health workforce, support the localisation of knowledge and technology, and create working environments capable of attracting and retaining skilled professionals.

Effective implementation would require coordination among health ministries, the Arab League, the Arab Board of Health Specializations, universities, training institutions, and regional and international organisations, he said.

In a recorded address, Nabil Fahmy cited estimates indicating that around 250,000 Arab health professionals are working abroad, saying the initiative seeks to benefit from their expertise in training, research, knowledge exchange and institutional development.

Former Egyptian Health Minister Adel Adawy, who chairs the conference’s higher committee, said many Arab health professionals working abroad occupy advanced scientific and professional positions, but their expertise had yet to be fully harnessed by countries in the region.

He said the conference builds on the first edition, held in Amman in 2024, and aims to move beyond recommendations towards establishing more permanent institutional mechanisms for engaging expatriate professionals.

Participants said the issue had become increasingly urgent as wars and crises in parts of the Arab region placed additional pressure on already strained healthcare systems.

Areas identified for cooperation include medical education and training, scientific research, technology transfer, healthcare development and emergency response.

The conference statement did not specify how the strategy would be implemented or financed, nor did it set numerical targets for the participation of expatriate health professionals.