Lusaka (Zambia), April 9 (IANS) About 20 doctors from India would visit Zambia later in April to conduct free medical services as part of a programme aimed at helping the African nation tackle a shortage of health workers, an official said.

The Indian doctors will be based at the country's highest referral hospital - the University Teaching Hospital in the capital city of Lusaka.

The team which includes dentists, orthopaedics, gynaecologists and plastic surgeons would work under the auspices of international humanitarian organisation, the Rotary International District.

The Indians would work with Zambian doctors in carrying out cataract operations, dental checks, treatment for bone deformities, cancer operations, childhood deformities and plastic surgeries, Moses Malunda, the head of the Rotary International District, told Xinhua.

Zambia has been among the African nations which have suffered due to migration of health workers to other countries where conditions were lucrative.

According to figures, the doctor-patient ratio in Zambia stands at 1:14,000, which fall way short of the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation of 1:5,000.

The African country also faces a shortage of nurses. There were about 10,000 nurses countrywide against the requirement of 22,000.