Some 90,000 Doctors are Waiting for Work Permits for India
Some 90,000 Indian doctors with a foreign diploma want to help in India in the fight against Covid-19 but are not yet able to get started because they need a work permit.
They want to be put to work by the government, reports an Indian organization that represents their interests.
The doctors want to help in India because their home country is struggling with many corona infections that have resulted in an overload of care. Experts warn that the country will soon face a shortage of medical staff in intensive care units as the challenging second wave is about to take its toll.
Indians who have completed medical training in Bangladesh, the Philippines, Nepal and Kyrgyzstan, must take exams in India before they can practice there. Their diplomas are recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), but doctors have to be tested by the Indian authorities because they are not used to health problems in India.
According to the interest group, many doctors have already passed the tests but are still waiting for their work permit, while others will only be able to take the tests in June. “We do not require foreign graduates to perform surgery, but they must be able to work as frontline workers at such a critical time,” said Najeerul Ameen, president of the All India Foreign Medical Graduates Association.
