In fact, the average African-trained member of the American Medical Association left his or her country of training well over five years after earning the Medical Doctor degree—as I learned when I surveyed them. Thus an African country that has invested in the training of a typical emigrant doctor has already received several years of service from that doctor (without even accounting for care provided during medical school). So it is false to say that the investment in the training of those people is fully “lost”. Furthermore, African-trained members of the American Medical Association send home to Africa, on average, over $6,000 per year, even 20 years after arriving in the United States—including those who send no money. Far from being “scant compensation”, this means that the typical African-trained doctor coming to the United States has sent back much more than the cost of training another doctor in the country he or she came from.
via People are not property: Please stop saying that countries “steal” doctors from Africa – Chris Blattman.
Someone should crunch the numbers on Mareng Winnie’s claim. I think what the author of this blog post is forgetting is that there is an opportunity cost component, and a dimension of positive externalities that may well go beyond 6000 USD a year in money sent back home.