South Africa, which struggles with a shortage of medical personnel at state-owned hospitals, hasn’t hired more than 800 qualified doctors in public-health posts because of a shortage of funds, a medical union said.

“Annually, the department cites budget constraints as a barrier to hiring qualified medical doctors, yet no substantial measures are evident to solve the funding dilemma,” the South African Medical Association Trade Union, known as Samatu, said in a statement Thursday. “This contributes immensely to the web of factors that prompt the continuous emigration of qualified doctors.”