Several developed countries have been actively recruiting health professionals in developing countries. They do so to fill domestic shortages stemming from demographic factors such as their ageing populations, shortfalls in training new health professionals, and changes in the labor market orientations of native workers. For instance, jobs like nursing are seen by the domestic workforce as too demanding, poorly paid, and occurring within a context of poor working conditions. On the supply side, the lack of jobs and career perspectives, poor wages, and poor working conditions often explain the propensity for migration by health professionals from developing countries. Within this context the scale of international recruitment has grown rapidly, as have the number of recruitment agencies who have played an important role in facilitating international migration. Recruitment firms have become 'lubricators' of international flows of health professionals and as the "primary source gateway" for nurses to enter the global market. Issues of ethics and the impact of international recruitment of health professionals have caused some concerns. First, there are ethical concerns about causing skill shortages in origin countries, famously highlighted by Nelson Mandela in 1999 when he criticized the British Government for causing a shortage of health workers in South Africa. Second are concerns for the workers themselves. The global wealth imbalances between source and destination countries create conditions where workers, desperate to find employment overseas, are "willing" to accept migratory conditions that are below internationally recognized standards.

1.Explain the importance of recruitment agencies for developed and developing countries? 2. Why some argue that it is unethical to recruit from developing countries?

3. If you are the manager of a hospital in a developed country, which method will you use to recruit nurses?