The Minister for Health, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has revealed that an overwhelming total of 71,969 trained health professionals remain unemployed across the country, a situation he described as “enormous” but assured Parliament and the Ghanaian public that steps are being taken to urgently address the crisis.
Responding to questions before Parliament, the Minister provided a detailed breakdown of the numbers and the categories of affected professionals.
He clarified that contrary to earlier public reports citing 30,000 unemployed health workers, the real figures are far higher and demand immediate policy interventions.
“Mr. Speaker, please permit me to provide some details of health professionals currently eligible for employment but yet to be recruited. With nurses, we have the 2021 batch with a total of 15,947; the 2022 batch with a total of 17,176; and the 2023 batch with a total of 15,755. This gives us a total of 48,878 unemployed nurses”.
Minister for Health, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh
He noted that approximately 15,000 nurses had been given financial clearance and were employed in December 2024.
However, th Minister noted that the payroll processes for these individuals are still ongoing, meaning their employment has not yet translated into full integration into the public health system.
Beyond Nurses
Beyond the nursing cadre, the Minister highlighted the plight of Allied Health Professionals, a group he said has not received any financial clearance for employment since 2019. “We have a total of 21,570 unemployed allied health professionals of various categories from 2019 to date,” he told Parliament.
The unemployment challenge also affects pharmacists and medical doctors. According to the Minister, 621 qualified pharmacists who completed their training between 2020 and now remain jobless, due to the absence of financial clearance since 2019. “This group also has not received any financial clearance since 2019,” he said, underscoring the long-standing nature of the problem.
Touching on the situation of medical doctors, the Minister noted that the Ministry has initiated steps to recruit over 900 doctors who are currently sitting idle at home, despite the country’s health sector facing a manpower shortage. “Mr. Speaker, the problem is therefore enormous,” he stressed. “But we are committed to finding solutions to it.”
He explained that the Ministry of Health is currently engaging with key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Finance, to secure financial clearance that would allow for the recruitment of these health professionals to beef up human resources across various public health facilities.
He added that the ultimate goal of these engagements is to ensure quality health care delivery for all Ghanaians.
Managed Migration
To complement local recruitment efforts, the Minister revealed that the Ministry is exploring managed migration opportunities for Ghanaian health professionals abroad.
He stated that more than 13 countries have formally expressed interest in recruiting qualified nurses and other health workers from Ghana.
“The Ministry has put together a team to come up with a policy framework and guidelines to ensure efficiency in the recruitment process, protect the interests of our citizens, and ensure that Ghana receives the required benefits from these arrangements”.
Minister for Health, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh
This policy direction reflects a strategic response to both the growing pool of unemployed professionals and the international demand for skilled Ghanaian health workers, which has been rising in the wake of global shortages post-COVID-19.
In addition to these bilateral arrangements, the Health Minister mentioned that the Ministry is actively engaging the private sector to create more job opportunities for the large number of unemployed health workers.
He indicated that discussions are underway to encourage private health institutions to absorb more trained professionals into their operations.
The Minister concluded by reiterating the government’s commitment to resolving the issue. “Mr. Speaker, I wish to assure the honorable member and the good people of Ghana that the Ministry remains fully committed to ensuring our health professionals are engaged to provide quality health services to all people living in Ghana,” he affirmed.
READ ALSO: Mahama Commits to Fix Port Bottlenecks to Drive 24-Hour Economy
