‘Garang’s Seeds’: Influences on the Return of Sudanese-Canadian Refugee Physicians to Post-Conflict South Sudan

摘要

There is a paucity of qualitative research in the intersection of refugee return studies and the health professional ‘brain drain’ literature. This study uses a multiple life history approach to examine factors influencing the return of 15 Sudanese physicians to their home country. In 2006 the University of Calgary and Samaritan’s Purse Canada implemented a training programme for these 15 refugees from Sudan exiled since 1985 who had trained as physicians in Cuba. We found that barriers to their return were overcome by programme assistance with financial obligations, navigation of Canadian government processes involving citizenship, and English language and medical skills upgrading. The arrival of these individuals in their homeland where they currently practise medicine required the sustained alignment of returnee commitment and motivation to return with significant support. These findings highlight the potential for targeted return assistance programmes in stimulating a reversal of ‘brain drain’ migration.