International nurse recruitment and the use of Memoranda of Understanding

06 May 2024

International nurse recruitment and the use of Memoranda of Understanding

Ian Kessler and colleagues examined the Kenya and Nepal pilots

The NIHR Policy Research Unit for the Health and Social Care Workforce has published an evaluation of the implementation of two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) in respect of the recruitment of healthcare staff from Kenya (2021) and Nepal (2022).

These MoUs were distinctive in various ways. As a country internationally categorised as Red Listed, Nepal has been shielded from active recruitment from healthcare providers in the NHS. Kenya was, by contrast, a Green Listed country with active overseas recruitment permissible. Under the MoUs both countries became Amber Listed, with active recruitment allowable but managed in accordance with the principles of the agreement.

Unit researchers, Ian Kessler, Kritika Samsi and Jo Moriarty, focused on the recruitment of nurses from Kenya and Nepal under the respective MoUs.

On the blog

Professor Kessler introduces the study findings on the Unit blog: In Pursuit of Ethically Sustainable Approaches to International Nurse Recruitment.

This publication

Kessler, I., Samsi, K., & Moriarty, J. (2024) International Nurse Recruitment and the Use of Memoranda of Understanding: The Kenya and Nepal Pilots. London: NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce, The Policy Institute, King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-175

Other international work at the Unit

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer

This research is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Policy Research Programme, through the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce, PR-PRU-1217-21002. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. We are most grateful to all those who contributed and participated in the study.