The Philippines is one of the world’s largest exporters of migrant labour, with a significant number of its citizens employed in healthcare as nurses. Asst Professor Yasmin Ortiga from the Singapore Management University is a sociologist who aims to answer why and what impact this has.

Taking a historical view, Asst Professor Ortiga traces this phenomenon back to the Philippine's US colonial past when nursing was established as a key profession. Over time, the national government used the export of labour as an economic development strategy. Yet, this has led to a troubling brain drain and a weakened healthcare infrastructure.

Asst Professor Ortiga’s work centres human experiences in this large scale phenomenon, beyond just the measurable outcomes. Solutions hence must extend beyond financial incentives, and instead undertake a humane approach to labour migration, addressing the broader needs of healthcare workers.

Timestamps:

1.35 Historical context behind the migration of Filipino nurses

3.21 Healthcare in the Philippines

5.00 How the pandemic affected the Philippines healthcare system

6.55 Individual perspective on the migration of Filipino nurses

11.02 Systemic perspective on the migration of Filipino nurses

12.58 Perception of Filipino nurses by Singaporeans

14.55 Filipino nurses vs domestic workers

17.35 Expectations of migrant Filipino healthcare workers

24.32 Filipino nurses who stay in the Philippines

26.50 Filipino nurses who leave Singapore to other countries

28.20 How Singapore retains its Filipino nurses and what we can do better

31.38 Impact on families in the Philippines due to migration

33.55 Yasmin and Joson’s personal experiences

37.48 What we don’t know about Filipino migrants

38.58 Parallels between Filipino migrants and Singaporean migrants

40.53 Balancing individual and systemic concerns of migration in healthcare