(VIDEO) 2021 Unemployed Nurses Appeal to Parliament Over Delayed Postings
Over 11,000 qualified nurses remain at home as Minority promises renewed push for government action.
- Nurses demand posting of over 11,000 trained professionals from 2021 cohort.
- Only 6,500 out of 18,000 nurses have been employed so far.
- Parliament urged to secure financial clearance for immediate recruitment.
The 2021 Cohort of the Unemployed Nurses Association of Ghana has appealed to Parliament for urgent intervention to secure postings for more than 11,000 trained nurses who remain at home despite completing their training and obtaining professional licences.
The group, led by its General Secretary Gideon Nsiah, met members of the Minority Caucus in Parliament on Thursday, urging them to pressure government to release financial clearance for their immediate recruitment.
According to Mr Nsiah, out of approximately 18,000 nurses who completed training in the 2021 cohort, only about 6,500 have so far been posted, leaving a large number still unemployed.
He said the group resorted to engaging Parliament after months of waiting without any clear communication or timeline from the Ministry of Health regarding their deployment.
The association stressed that all affected nurses are fully qualified and ready to serve, but remain at home due to delays in recruitment clearance.
They have therefore called on the administration of President John Dramani Mahama to prioritise health sector recruitment and address the backlog of unemployed nurses.
The group argued that posting the remaining nurses would not only reduce unemployment but also help ease pressure on health facilities across the country.
Meanwhile, Ranking Member on Parliament’s Health Committee and MP for Effiduase/Asokore, Nana Ayew Afriye, also met the group and pledged to intensify advocacy for their posting during the upcoming mid-year budget review.
Mr Afriye criticised government’s handling of the issue, stating that thousands of trained nurses had been left in uncertainty despite earlier expectations of automatic employment after training.
He noted that the situation reflects unclear policy direction in the health sector and called for urgent action to resolve the impasse.
The Minority Caucus is expected to raise the matter in Parliament as part of ongoing discussions on public sector recruitment and health workforce challenges.
From Prince Joe Boadi
