The Minister for Health, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh in an address to Parliament, stated that the current number of health workers demanding employment is substantial and far exceeds the quoted figure of 30,000. He provided a breakdown of the various categories of health professionals who are eligible for employment but yet to be recruited.
According to the Minister, the total number of unemployed nurses stands at 48,878. The 2021 batch consists of 15,947 nurses, the 2022 batch has 17,176, and the 2023 batch includes 15,755 nurses. The Minister added that approximately 15,000 nurses were given financial clearance and employed in December 2024. However, the process of placing them on the payroll is still ongoing.
The Minister revealed that allied health professionals have not received any financial clearance since 2019. As a result, there are currently 21,570 unemployed allied health professionals from 2019 to date. According to him there has also been no financial clearance for pharmacists since 2019, leaving a total of 1,621 unemployed.
Regarding medical doctors, the Minister noted that the Ministry has begun the process of recruiting over 900 doctors who are currently unemployed and awaiting placement. He made this known when he appeared before the House to answer questions relating to his Ministry. “The problem is, therefore, enormous,” he admitted, “but we are committed to finding solutions to it.”
He further stated that the Ministry is exploring managed migration as a strategy to reduce the number of unemployed health professionals. He revealed that Ghana has received formal requests from over 13 countries interested in recruiting and deploying qualified Ghanaian nurses and other health professionals.
