Allocate Additional Budget to Employ Health Workers – SEND Ghana to Gov’t

Social Enterprise Development (SEND) Ghana, a civil society group, has advised government to increase the allocated budget set towards the employment of health staff during its midyear budget review.

The group believes that this will address the human resource needs of the Ministry of Health and ensure high quality health care.

According to an issued statement, Minister of Health Kwaku Agyemang-Manu had said that government would recruit 40,000 nurses by early 2019.

“Through Minister of Health Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, government stated in October 2018 that the ministry would recruit 40,000 nurses by February 2019.”

“However, the 2019 budget statement makes a provision for the employment of only 6,280 health staff,” it added.

They advised government to provide an additional allocation to avoid risking a higher number of unemployment in the health sector and a shortage of health staff.

The health sector has suffered a high rate of unemployment when government failed to post nurses after their training.

The unemployed nurses have taken to the streets to demonstrate and picketed on various occasions, demanding immediate postings.

But Minister of Health assured the distressed nurses that they will receive appointments by end of this year.

The sector minister had further stated that it had received financial clearance to pool in the unemployed persons.

By: Jennifer Avemee