Exodus Of Iran's Healthcare Professionals Continues

Masoud Pezeshkian, a member of the Iranian parliament, has warned of the growing migration of healthcare professionals threatening to leave the country in a dire shortage.

In an interview with Rouydad 24, Pezeshkian stated that, while precise statistics on doctor emigration are lacking, it is evident that a significant number have left Iran for various reasons.

“Those who have remained are often constrained by low salaries, making it increasingly challenging to maintain their quality of life. With a monthly income equivalent to $200 to $300, many healthcare professionals find it difficult to afford housing and their children's education,” he said.

Driven by a combination of economic hardships, professional constraints, and the lack of social and political freedoms, a growing number of healthcare professionals, including physicians, dentists, midwives, and nurses, have either emigrated in recent years or are actively planning to do so.

He emphasized that the primary challenge driving the exodus is financial, as low salaries and high living costs push professionals to seek better opportunities abroad. Despite Iran's abundant resources, which include oil, gas, minerals, water, and a well-educated workforce, mismanagement, and a failure to utilize these resources efficiently contribute to the country's economic challenges.

Pezeshkian concluded by warning that the consequences of the ongoing healthcare professional migration crisis will become apparent in the coming years, sentiments echoed now for many months, worsened since the uprising of the Women, Life, Freedom movement last September.

In February, Mohammad Sharifi-Moghadam, a member of the central council of Iran's Nurses’ Organization, estimated that between 2,500 to 3,000 nurses emigrate from Iran annually.

More recently, in May, MP Hossein Ali Shahriari, chairman of the Iranian parliament's Health and Treatment Committee, said Around 10,000 healthcare practitioners have left Iran over the past two years to work in the Arab world.