The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has disclosed that the government is in negotiations with 13 countries to export Ghanaian nurses to work abroad.
According to him, the move is part of efforts to deal with the backlog of qualified nurses and midwives who have remained unemployed since 2020.
The Minister made this known during a visit to the Sefwi Wiawso Nurses and Midwifery College in the Western North Regional capital, Sefwi Wiawso.
“As I speak to you now, we have the 2021 year group at home, we have the 2022 year group at home and 2023 at home, so the last batch that were employed was the 2020 batch, which is a major problem for the government.
“We are thinking through it and looking at how we can expedite action on employment; there are two things we are doing – the government is looking at employing or recruiting some of you. We are also looking at how we can export some of you to other countries that need nursing.
“As I speak to you now, about thirteen countries have responded, and we are in negotiations with them. We are thinking about that, and we will think outside the box to find solutions to this particular problem,” Mr. Akandoh said.
He assured students and staff of the college that the government remains committed to expanding local employment opportunities in the health sector while pursuing international partnerships to absorb the surplus.
The Minister also announced plans to support the upgrading of tutors in nursing and midwifery colleges.
“One of the manifestos of the NDC was that we will help upgrade nursing tutors. And so this year, we are starting with upgrading 15 tutors to pursue PHD.
“It’s not just any upgrade, we are just starting with 15 in 2025 to pursue PHD. What this means is that by the end of His Excellency John Mahama’s tenure, we will have not less than 60 PHD tutors in our nursing training institutions,” he said.