Vanuatu's Ministry of Health is facing a significant shortage of nurses, doctors and midwives, resulting in major problems in rural areas.
File photo Photo: 123RF
The Ministry says over 100 staff retired last year.
The Vanuatu Daily Post reported that the current number of health workers was not enough to meet all the country's growing medical needs.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry, Jerome Ludvaune, said there was a lack of staffing in all aid posts, including rural health centres without midwives and some hospitals without doctors.
Mr Ludvaune said recruiting qualified health workers from overseas is an idea worth considering, but the government will still need to address the gap when those workers leave.
He said the government needs to provide medical students support in their programmes to be efficiently trained for the workforce and close the gap.