Philippines Says It Has Shortage of 190,000 Healthcare Workers

The Philippines needs to plug a shortage of 190,000 healthcare workers, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said, prompting the government to consider a clutch of benefits to make them stay.

The Southeast Asian nation is the world’s top supplier of nurses. Thousands of health workers leave the Philippines annually for work abroad, lured by higher pay and prospects of a better life.

For doctors alone, the country needs to triple the number, as the current ratio of one physician for every 25,000 people is far from the ideal ratio of one for every 10,000, the health chief said.

Yet, despite the ...