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Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 loses 4,642 health workers to brain drain (2022–2025)

Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa revealed shocking migration stats at the 78th WHO Assembly in Geneva.

⭕ 726 - specialist doctors
⭕ 1,116 - medical officers
⭕ 2,800 - nurses

have left the country to serve in other nations.

⭕ All were trained with state funds and are now serving abroad. The Minister called for international accountability.

⭕ But the real fix isn’t blaming others—it’s about paying well, valuing talent, and incentivizing professionals to stay.
Exorbitant personal taxes and cuts to existing benefits like vehicle permits push them away. These professionals need to feel valued and supported.

#SriLanka 🇱🇰

22 May 2025, 18:53

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Original post on X — Numbers.lk (@numberslka)

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over 1 year ago

I would say go for better opportunities but first do some return to the country as well. We all learned from free education. That free comes from the people. Pay them back before leaving them once and for all. If I am the minister, there are two approaches I would take, give them better wages and working conditions and benefits. Another is to make a system that they have to pay a tax to be able to leave the country. A tax that is equal to what the country has invested per head under free education. Or they could choose to send foreign remittance for a decade or so. Would sound insane, but think about it. Also this not just for doctors. This is for anyone who graduates from a govt. University or any other govt. funded entity.

over 1 year ago1

"Exorbitant personal taxes and cuts to existing benefits like vehicle permits push them away" That is an L take honestly. Way to keep them in the country is paying well according to the job and making the workload manageable so they don't have to overwork at insane hours. BUT If those professionals need special treatment like tax cuts and vehicle permits, they might as well go abroad, because that is not equality and I don't think a developing country like SL doesn't need such people. That's just another aspect of corruption 😌

over 1 year ago

Now they sending usd -> sl

over 1 year ago

Only Doctors were educated using state funds !!! 😅

over 1 year ago

Now lets see the stats regarding the engineering field, waiting 🫢

over 1 year ago2

Nipuni Apparently we are not soo important 😋
over 1 year agoLikes:1
Malini Senanayake lol yes no one even notices 😅
over 1 year ago

Same regarding university academic

over 1 year ago

Just because you work in the health sector in Sri Lanka you can not get the same thing right away since most of these jobs are regulated occupations in western countries. Some of these people might have to start from the bottom and some have returned back not knowing the time consuming process of getting licensed , as most have just followed the trend because someone else they knew migrated.

over 1 year ago5

Anush Rajapaksha interesting . Convey that information to Hon Minister so that he will stop spreading this type of irrational speeches in such forums.
over 1 year agoLikes:1

Amaan Nazeer anything to say?

over 1 year ago2

Ahamed Rila free education is for everyone, whether they drop out from O/Ls or A/Ls or completes University Education. Everyone has the equal rights to gain that advantage. But, the healthcare workers going abroad is what makes people upset ehh??? Rather than crying on it, it's high time to improve the standards and valuing their Brains too..
over 1 year ago
Amaan Nazeer I also urge Dr to go abroad and live a good life. They are blaming other countries without making solutions.
over 1 year agoLikes:1

So how about IT officers, engineers, accountants, bsc grads? They aren't educated by state funds? Hypocrisy shows. This account is against paying doctors a proper salary as well.

over 1 year ago

This looks like misinformation. This was his speech. He didn't blame anyone. Stop spreading misinformation. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1ZfjZYpFWt/

over 1 year ago

Numbers.lk
Sanjee Goonetilake ".. We believe that the destination countries too are responsible, and we call for effective and liberated implementation of the WHO code for international recruitment of health personnel." – These are his exact words. We urge you to watch and listen to the speech again, instead of doing what you accuse us of doing — spreading misinformation.
over 1 year agoLikes:9
Numbers.lk Then why don't you report his exact words? You create a narrative that he blamed the health workers for leaving. Absolute misinformation. This is what you wrote: Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 loses 4,642 health workers to brain drain (2022–2025) ⭕ All were trained with state funds and are now serving abroad. The Minister called for international accountability. ⭕ But the real fix isn’t blaming others—it’s about paying well, valuing talent, and incentivizing professionals to stay. Exorbitant personal taxes and cuts to existing benefits like vehicle permits push them away. These professionals need to feel valued and supported.
over 1 year ago
Sanjee Goonetilake Why don't you listen to actual comments by your minister instead of bending over backwards to a political party?
over 1 year agoLikes:2
Chalinda Samaranayake I have listened to the Minister and I have provided the link already. I don't quite understand how his entire speech became a complaint on doctors leaving and victim blaming narrative. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1ZfjZYpFWt/
over 1 year ago
Sanjee Goonetilake you talked about misinformation. When you did the same in x, and I questioned that you blocked me. 🤣🤣🤣
over 1 year agoLikes:1
5 more replies

ගිනි පොලියට ණය දීල බැංකු ලාබ වාර්තා තියනව. රජයේ බදු ගෙවල, මේ ගිනි පොලියට වාහන/ගෙවල් හදල කොහොමද ලංකාවෙ මධ්‍යම පන්තිය ඔලුව උස්සන්නෙ? රට යන එක ඇරැනම මධ්‍යම පන්තියට තියෙන විසඳුමක් රජයටවත් යෝජනා කරන්න පුලුවන්ද?

over 1 year ago5

Don't blame people who have already left the country. Answer the questions like, Why did they leave? Most so called big companies also make this mistake, blaming employees without addressing the real problem

over 1 year ago4

Fix the economy. You don’t blame your employees if the workplace is shit 💩

over 1 year ago1

I can assure you that not all are state funded and trained 100% guaranteed. I can give atleast 100 names of foreign graduates who have left

over 1 year ago

1. The money spent was equally spent on everyone. Those who studied well, entered universities or went into the private system and then passed out with a profession. It's not like they were given a special favor. 2. You send those workers abroad, you get the foreign currency you need. That's why the government gave 5 year leave for government employees to go send money. You can't have the cake and eat the cake at the same time. 3. "Stability" is everything, even with crap salaries. If salary is crappy and the country is also run by morons like what we had from 2019 to 2022, then of course people will leave. Only that those in health professions get better luck in the west because of the demand that the west has for health professionals. You are given an opportunity now. Don't cry now. Just fix the country as you have been saying for 30 years. If you do, no one has to leave.

over 1 year ago22

Shihar Hassan well said
over 1 year agoLikes:1
Shihar Hassan on point!
over 1 year agoLikes:1

All were trained with state funds is wrong. What about those who studied abroad and decided to come serve in this country and left because there was no hope.

over 1 year ago3

Because of salt shortage 🤭

over 1 year ago

Source - Trust me bro 🌝

over 1 year ago

I wish this minister told the international community how much he pays his healthcare workers per hour, how enormous the workload is, how the living conditions are for them, how he ridiculed when a lady doctor was r@ped in hospital premises, how his government just recently selectively quoted ‘healthcare workers’ in their budget and said out of all they would get the least amount of pay hike, how healthcare workers joined since 2016 became the only group of working class in the country who do not have any sort of retirement plan, how the government decided that healthcare workers will be paid 1/3rd 2/3rd etc of their due wages because of apparent lack of funds but will be taxed equally like for everyone else, how remaining few working force is pushed to shoulder the burden of all those who have left the country but are subjected to ceiling of payement for extra work worse than ever before, how the government policy became turning the public against healthcare workers and made the society hostile towards them, made them feel they are obliged to work for peanuts.. None of us chose medicine as a career to serve another country, nothing comes even close to being able to care for our own people as a healthcare worker but we have been pushed to leave this place in the meanest possible way unfortunately! ✌🏼

over 1 year ago43

Government need give opportunity to private institute to start MBBS course and other medical field related courses..

over 1 year ago14

Fayaz Ahamed modern kakille
over 1 year ago
Fayaz Ahamed එතකොට medical field ඉන්න උන්ට විතරද යකෝ රට යන්න බැරි මේක ටහිකෙන රටක් නේ 🖕
over 1 year agoLikes:6
Dilum Chalindu Dilshan Ehamama mama adahas karannea ne.. market eke madical field professional s adui bcoz MBBS degree only provide by government university therefore not enough Output to market requirement. Therefore automatically market demand to doctors is increase.. If private institute provide those degree market requirement will fullfil..
over 1 year agoLikes:1
Fayaz Ahamed So they will serve for this slaves' salary??? They will not. Men use ur brain once in a while .
over 1 year agoLikes:1
Fayaz Ahamed so you are saying that person who got a private medical degree in Sri Lanka by spending 30 million rs and will serve as a doctor in Sri Lanka with a monthly salary of 2to 3 laks? If you think like that go and check your brain mate 😂😂
over 1 year agoLikes:9
4 more replies

Why don't you implement another IQ test ?? 🤣

over 1 year ago4

There are no state funds. Education is funded by taxes paid by every citizen. It is their right to receive an education, and if they are smart, they can advance. They also spend many hours and sacrifice much to get their education. It is their freedom to pursue any legal job or life that makes them happy and treats them well. What is this about international accountability by the minister? It's a Stu!%#^ thing to say specially in front of international media.

over 1 year ago40

Danushka Ranjana Marasinghe As you are a migrated person this is a good statement escape But cognitive disonance will wrap you up for ever.😄😄😄😄
over 1 year ago
Udana Indika Wijerathne It's truly fascinating, how simply being a 'migrated person' retroactively enrolls one in a free education system. My deepest thanks for this enlightening insight into my own past. 😁
over 1 year agoLikes:1

Can you present us the data of engineers who passed out from state universities please. Everyone will be amazed

over 1 year ago8

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