Nurses leaving Ghana because of global demand for health professionals; not because of bad pay - Health Minister

The Minister in charge of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu has denied assertions that health professionals are leaving the country because government does not pay them well.

In the first quarter of 2023, over 300 health workers reportedly left the Ghana Health Service in the Ashanti Region to pursue better opportunities abroad.

This alarmed authorities who warned that the trend would have a negative impact on healthcare delivery in the region.

In the conversation that ensued after the report, it was revealed that health officers from other regions had also left their posts to pursue greener pastures abroad.

Answering questions from the media at a press briefing on Wednesday, September 6, Health Minister Kwaku Agyemang-Manu assured Ghanaians that there is no cause for alarm despite the brain drain.

According to him, health professionals are not leaving the country because of bad pay but because of a global demand for their skills post the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The brain drain matter, there are pull and push factors. Somebody was talking about salaries are not very good. Those of us sitting here including me and Ghanaians how many of us are comfortable and satisfied with our salaries? The opportunity is out there now. Before Covid were we talking about the brain drain of nurses?

“After Covid, there is a massive global health workforce shortage. So an opportunity has been created and therefore those who are adventurous would like to take advantage of those opportunities elsewhere,” Kwaku Agyemang-Manu argued.

The Health Minister told the press that government concerned about the brain drain of health officials is in talks with governments of other countries to send some Ghanaian health workers to them in a proper way that will benefit the country in the long term.

“Government started managing migration in small quantities from Ghana to Barbados. We have sent two cohorts and there are other countries that are knocking at our doors to try and see if we can offload some of our nurses to them. That is why we are working with the Ministry of Labour and Employment to see how we can manage this situation. Sign bilateral engagements and MoUs so that those who want to go will go in a decent manner.

“We are looking at how to keep our experienced health professionals here and then see how best some can go out there and work and acquire some more training,” Health Minister Kwaku Agyemang-Manu indicated.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry is awaiting clearance from the Ministry of Finance to recruit more health professionals.