Health ministers from African countries are worried that the European Union's proposed blue card will drain the developing world of its skilled workers.

"We cannot afford schemes that seek to cream the very limited health skills we still have in developing countries," South Africa health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang told Sapa news agency.

The ministers were expressing their worries at a ministerial session of 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP) in Belgium on 26 October 2007.

"Many developing countries are already struggling with the challenge of migration of health workers," said Tshabalala-Msimang. She urged the EU not to add to the pressure with its proposed blue card.

However, the European Commission, the governmental body of the EU responsible for drafting the blue card proposal, has measures in the legislation designed to discourage brain drain from developing nations.

"In order to avoid negative 'brain drain' effects in developing countries, especially in Africa, the proposal promotes ethical recruitment standards to limit – if not ban – active recruitments by Member States in developing countries already suffering from serious brain drain," the EC said in a press release.