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07.12.2022 Health

I’m not against exportation of nurses but we need to take care of our people first – Akandoh

Im not against exportation of nurses but we need to take care of our people first – Akandoh
07.12.2022 LISTEN

The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Health Committee, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has urged the Ministry of Health to prioritise the health of the Ghanaian people.

This call comes on the back of plans for the Ministry to export nurses to the United Kingdom.

According to Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu, bilateral talks are far advanced between the Government of Ghana and the British Government to send Ghanaian trained nurses to the United Kingdom (UK) in exchange for financial considerations.

“We are engaging with the government of the United Kingdom, and we are just about to sign a memorandum of agreement after cabinet approval to begin to send nurses for training and work there and come back home after three years.

“Ghana is going to benefit from the little money that the UK government will pass on. For every single nurse that goes away, when we finish the agreement, it is likely we will get over 1000 pounds to come and support the health system in Ghana,” the Health Minister said in Parliament.

Reacting to this, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh noted that he is not against it. However, he argued that this is not the right time to make the consideration.

In his view, the priority of the Health Ministry should be on how to make the health of the Ghanaian people better.

“The health of the people is paramount, let’s look at how we can get health professionals to take care of our people then the exportation of nurses is a secondary matter. In principle, I’m not against it. But I’m against it when we don’t have enough, we have a high attrition rate but we are thinking and planning toward exporting those in the system. Why will you be discussing the exportation of health professionals when indeed you have not fulfilled the fundamental needs of the health sector in this country?” Mr. Akandoh asked.

Eric Nana Yaw Kwafo
Eric Nana Yaw Kwafo

JournalistPage: EricNanaYawKwafo

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