Health Ministry Announces Recruitment of Over 8,000 Professionals Under Free Primary Healthcare Policy

The Ministry of Health has clarified the ongoing nationwide recruitment of health professionals, stating that the exercise is aimed at strengthening Ghana’s healthcare system under the government’s Free Primary Healthcare Policy.

In a statement issued on Thursday, May 14, 2026, the Ministry acknowledged growing public concern surrounding the recruitment process, especially amid a backlog of more than 105,000 unemployed health professionals across the country.

According to the Ministry, recruitment into several health categories has not taken place for years, with the last major intakes occurring in 2020 for nurses, 2019 for pharmacists and allied health professionals, and 2018 for physician assistants.

The Ministry explained that although government cannot absorb all unemployed professionals at once, financial clearance has currently been secured for the recruitment of about 8,000 health workers and support staff.

Under the recruitment plan, nurses and midwives received the largest allocation of 6,500 positions. Priority has been given to Nurse Assistant Preventive, Community Health Nurses and Public Health Nurses to support preventive healthcare and community outreach services.

The Ministry also allocated 900 positions to allied health professionals, particularly Laboratory Technicians and Health Information Officers, to strengthen healthcare delivery at CHPS compounds and polyclinics.

Additionally, 250 positions have been reserved for pharmacy professionals and technicians, while 300 physician assistants are expected to be recruited, including those previously employed in 2024 but still awaiting payroll processing.

The Ministry said the recruitment exercise is directly aligned with the Free Primary Healthcare Policy, which focuses on expanding preventive and community-based healthcare services, especially in underserved communities.

To ensure fairness and transparency, regional allocations were based on staffing requirements and gap analyses submitted by the Ghana Health Service, CHAG, Ahmadiyya Health Services and the Mental Health Authority.

The Ministry disclosed that a Recruitment Committee made up of Human Resource Directors from relevant agencies was involved in determining the distribution of vacancies based on healthcare needs across regions.

As part of efforts to improve transparency, the Ministry introduced a new online recruitment portal to support direct district-level recruitment.

The statement added that feedback received from applicants regarding the portal is being reviewed to improve the user experience.

The Ministry assured unemployed health professionals that it remains committed to securing additional financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance to expand future recruitment opportunities.

It further indicated that the recruitment portal would be reopened whenever approval is granted for additional hiring.

The statement was signed by the Ministry’s spokesperson, Tony Goodman.