How can African countries counter the effects of brain drain?
KA: Despite the grim picture presented by the exodus of skilled professionals, African countries should now concentrate on transforming brain drain into “brain gain” by building and nurturing networks and developing strategies to harness the scientific and technical expertise of their Diaspora members. A realistic agenda for reversing the brain drain is to concentrate on utilizing Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), virtual networks and partnerships, online mentoring programs, short-term visitations and professional exchange programs. Physical repatriation is not a pre-requisite for Diaspora contributions to home of origin development. What are remittances and do they have an impact on African economies? KA: Remittances are money sent by migrants to their home countries for various purposes. Recent estimates of the total remittances by African migrants into the region range from $10-40 billion (in fact there is no accurate figure). In 2007 for example, Bank of Ghana anno
