To the Editor: The Commentary on health worker migration by Mr Gostin1 rightly focused
attention on nurses. Nurses are the backbone of primary care services in developing
countries, particularly Africa. The rapid expansion of human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV)/AIDS and tuberculosis has resulted in a major increase in nurses' workloads: in some
parts of Africa, HIV/AIDS has doubled the patient load for nurses, with no commensurate
improvement in salary or working conditions. 2 The demands placed on nurses will likely …