Why money won’t solve SA’s veterinary brain drain

There will, undoubtedly, be those who react with a “so what?” to the news that veterinarians are leaving the country in droves. Surely, doctors, who treat humans, are more important than those who treat animals, their argument might run.

The reality is, though, that not all vets spend their days treating the pampered lap dogs of the wealthy suburban elite.

Many of them work long, hard hours in rural areas, caring for farm animals – and are, therefore, a vital component of the agricultural sector. This sector, unglamorous though it may be, puts food on our tables and provides hundreds of thousands of jobs.

About 100 veterinarians leave the country every year to work overseas, when only about 140 qualify annually. That leaves South Africa with about 4 000 registered vets, which is about 60 vets per million people.

The international standard, according to the South African Veterinary Council, the body that regulates vets, is between 200 and 400 vets per million people.

ALSO READ: Best veterinarian in Africa hails from Joburg South

Even if one counts every student vet and other people registered with the council, the total is still just over 100 per million people, far short of the international standard.

Worst hit by the vet shortage are rural areas where there is often a lack of equipment or medicines and clinics frequently close down.

South African veterinary training is acknowledged as some of the best in the world, so it is no surprise our vets are in demand elsewhere. There must be an investigation into this worsening veterinary brain drain.

In some cases, it will be because people are tempted by earnings in a strong currency; in others it will be because they don’t regard South Africa as having a stable, long-term future.

Improving working conditions and salaries is only half the solution. Give people a country they can believe in and they’ll stay.

ALSO READ: Vets and veterinary nurses reinstated to South Africa’s critical skills list