The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has called for a formal Ghana Diaspora Health Compact to strengthen healthcare delivery through collaboration between Ghana and its health professionals in the United Kingdom. The Association’s President, Prof. Ernest Yorke, made the call in an interview.
Prof. Yorke explained that the proposed agreement would coordinate the contributions of the diaspora and align them with Ghana’s healthcare needs. It would bring together key health institutions and professional associations in both countries to identify gaps in specialist care and match them with available expertise.
“What I am proposing is that we revitalise this model, move it from short-term project funding to long-term, endowment-based institutional partnerships between named NHS trusts and named Ghanaian hospitals.”
Association’s President, Prof. Ernest Yorke
Prof. Yorke outlined three elements of the proposal. The first is a register of Ghanaian health professionals in the UK. The second is a simplified temporary licensing process for diaspora doctors who want to practise in Ghana. The third is the development of joint research programmes.
He also proposed scheduled specialist outreach in cancer care, kidney treatment, paediatric surgery and mental health. A nationally coordinated outreach calendar, he stated, would ensure that specialist support is planned around Ghana’s healthcare needs rather than depending on the availability of individual doctors.
Duplication Among Diaspora Efforts
Prof. Yorke identified a lack of coordination as the problem the compact would address. Diaspora groups, hospitals, charities and individual specialists often work separately, he explained, and the result is sometimes duplicated effort and interventions that do not fully meet Ghana’s needs.
He listed the actors involved. “There are multiple actors,” he stated, among them diaspora associations, NGOs, NHS trusts, pharmaceutical companies, faith communities and individual specialists. In his account, they work with good intentions but without a shared plan.
From Short-Term Projects to Lasting Partnerships
Prof. Yorke called for a shift in the model. Support, he argued, should move from short-term project funding to long-term, endowment-based partnerships between named NHS trusts and named Ghanaian hospitals.
He stated that the diaspora’s contribution should go beyond occasional medical missions and equipment donations. The aim, he explained, is to build lasting partnerships that improve healthcare delivery.
“The relationship between Ghana and its diaspora in health is not a transactional one. It is not simply that Ghana needs doctors and the diaspora provides them, or that Ghana has sick people and the diaspora brings medicines.”
Association’s President, Prof. Ernest Yorke
A Call to Ghanaian Professionals in the UK
Prof. Yorke urged Ghanaian health professionals in the UK to support research, invest in health infrastructure and advocate for Ghana’s healthcare needs in international policy discussions.
He acknowledged the contributions that remittances and diaspora professionals already make to the health sector. A more organised approach, he stated, would make their impact more effective.
Prof. Yorke stated that the proposed compact and other partnerships could improve access to specialist care and strengthen training. They would also support Ghana’s efforts to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3), which seeks to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all.
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