The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is an independent, non-statutory, non-time limited, non-departmental public body that advises the UK government on migration issues. It is responsible for providing transparent, independent and evidence-based advice to the government on migration issues, including on the impacts of migration, the limits on immigration under the points based system, and skills shortages within occupations.
The UK has established a Migration Impacts Forum (MIF) to allow for a national debate and dialogue with key service providers on the wider impacts associated with migration experienced by local areas, and identify and share good practices in managing these impacts.
Under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), the movement of natural persons is one of the four ways through which services can be supplied internationally. Otherwise known as “Mode 4”, it covers natural persons who are either service suppliers (such as independent professionals) or who work for a service supplier and who are present in another WTO member to supply a service. It is a multilateral framework available on a non-discriminatory basis to all WTO Member States.
As an example of South-South capacity building at a bilateral level: Cuba offers training of health personnel to other developing countries, for example through its Latin American School of Medicine, which produces more than 2000 graduate doctors every year for Latin America and the Caribbean; and its brigades of health professionals to fill resource gaps in poorer countries.
The Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP) was established in 2003 under the aegis of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to ensure that the education programmes of medicine and other health professions offered by institutions in participating countries are recognised nationally and regionally to be of international standard. This single, common registration mechanism enables doctors and nurses from CARICOM countries to do only one exam and practise anywhere in the region.
The Nursing MRA was signed by ASEAN member countries on December 9, 2006. This Arrangement facilitates the mobility of nursing services professionals within ASEAN, enhances exchange of information and expertise on standards and qualifications, promotes adoption of best practices for professional nursing services and provides opportunities for capacity building and training of nurses.
The case of Malawi is one of a developing country with severe health system problems and shortages of skilled workers that is seeking solutions through comprehensive training and retention strategies. Prior to 2004, Malawi had lost some 56% of its workers to HIV/AIDS and 40% through resignations or migration. This had seriously affected the delivery of health.
RuralNet, a cooperative venture of rural banks, has been established to provide interconnectivity between rural banks and other players in the formal remittance market in the Philippines. This is seen to potentially address the "unbanked problem".
To do this, RuralNet offers services including:
In Mexico, on a weekly basis, the Procuraduria Federal del Consumidor (PROFECO)- the Federal Attorney's Office of Consumer - publishes fee statistics on a USD $300 remittance, the exchange rate banks apply to the payments, dollars received and the total cost of the remittances.
This information helps Mexican migrants make informed choices when sending remittances home.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ('BSP', the Central Bank of the Philippines) issued a circular in January 2005 requiring bank and non-bank financial institutions to s to register with the BSP and to post the charges for their various remittance products including cost clarifications. This is partly to address the non-response of service fees despite the decrease in costs incurred because of automation in the remittance process.