Forced displacement and the healthcare workforce crisis: Venezuelan healthcare workers in Peru

Abstract Background The migration of healthcare workforces tends to be economically based benefiting high income countries, while draining lower-income countries of workers and skills. However, national instability or civil conflict may also have the effect of forcing out health workers. Few articles focus on the experiences of these types of migrants. This study aims to close a gap in the migration debate by exploring the capacity of integrating displaced healthcare workers in middle-to-low resourced health systems, using Peru as a case study. Methods The study draws on a policy analysis, statistical data and expert information from Peru. Results Peru has become the second largest Latin American destination for Venezuelan forced displaced migrants, a number of which are healthcare workers. While the exact numbers of these workers is unknown, it is estimated that 4,000 and 3,000 physicians and about 2,500 nurses and health technicians from Venezuela reside in Peru. These workers find entry into the heath system difficult due to bureaucratic and costly registration and qualification validation procedures. However, during Covid-19 the conditions were relaxed, and a large number of these workers entered the healthcare workforce. They were primarily physicians and worked in urban medical facilities, though there was some distribution across the country’s departments. This avenue to the healthcare workforce allowed the mobilisation of dormant health skills and assisted to lift density numbers. Conclusions Peru’s experiences bring into focus the potential benefits of mobilising new resources through integrating displaced healthcare worker migrants. It is too early to assess the sustainability of these policies on the country’s healthcare workforce and its Universal Health Coverage goals, yet there seem to be some positive experiences. Speakers/Panelists Tomas Zapata WHO/Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark