How much should international NGOs pay their staff? How big a role should global versus local factors play?

Some interesting comments on pay gaps from an article arguing that spending priorities in international development are wrong:

A primary concern is the salary gap between NGOs and state clinics. In Guinea, where the Ebola epidemic started a year ago, a physician employed by the government earns $300 to $400 a month, said Mohamed Lamine Yansane, a policy adviser at the country’s Health Ministry. The same doctor could get as much as $2,000 working for a foreign-backed non-governmental organization, he said.
In the public system, “people are badly paid and equipment is lacking,” Yansane said. “NGOs offer a more attractive work environment.”

The article might overall be best described as a call for more general focus on improved general health infrastructure rather than a disease-specific focus that might draw doctors away from where they might be most effective.

It's also worth noting that a disease-specific focus can be self-perpetuating by distorting statistics:

Benn acknowledged that services for non-communicable ailments such as cancer and heart disease have gotten less attention. There’s anecdotal evidence that people with such maladies falsely claim to have HIV to get access to better treatment, he said.