The Health Committee of Parliament has urged the Ministry of Finance to release funds for the recruitment of thousands of unemployed health professionals across Ghana.
The call comes after the Committee visited the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on September 3 and the Greater Accra Regional Hospital on September 4, where inadequate staffing was found to be severely affecting the delivery of quality healthcare.
Committee member Dr. Robert Kuganab-Lem Nawaane revealed that about 1,000 doctors, more than 48,000 nurses, 1,000 pharmacists, and several allied health scientists remain unemployed despite hospitals struggling with staff shortages.
“Shortage of staff, I think, is nationwide, and we will continue to talk to the Minister of Finance [Ato Forson]. That problem is not with the Ministry of Health; it is with the Ministry of Finance, where we have about 1,000 doctors at home, over 48,000 nurses at home, 1,000 pharmacists at home and allied health scientists, who are also at home,” Dr. Nawaane explained.
He stressed that investing in healthcare recruitment would bring significant returns to the country. “We will continue to work hard to ensure the Ministry of Finance understands that investment in health will yield about nine or ten times, and so we need to spend more on health,” he added.
The Committee has pledged to continue engaging the Ministry of Finance to fast-track the employment of health workers to strengthen Ghana’s healthcare system.
