A tripartite commission, recently created to examine the migration
of health care professionals from Costa Rica and to design
strategies to manage the flow, is today taking up its duties.



The Tripartite Commission on International Labour Migration of
Health Care Workers, composed of IOM, the International Labour
Organization (ILO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
will alert the authorities of the possible risks of increased
migration of healthcare workers and propose strategies to better
manage this aspect of international migration.



Costa Rica’s stable economy and standard of living attract
economic migrants from neighbouring countries who cross long land
borders to work in low-paying or informal industries, including
agriculture, construction and service industries. At the same time,
Costa Ricans are increasingly travelling to North America, Europe
and elsewhere to work in a variety of sectors, including health.
Although the migration of health workers does not currently appear
to be negatively affecting the health system, lessons from other
countries around the world point to the possibility for problems in
the future.



The Commission will conduct its studies on the impact of migration
on the healthcare system in 2007 before putting forward any
recommendations.



For more information contact:



Jessica Saavedra

IOM San José

Tel: 221-5348 (201)

E-mail: "mailto:jsaavedra@iom.int" target="" title="">jsaavedra@iom.int