About 100,000 trained health professionals were unemployed as of 2025 — Health Minister

The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has disclosed that about 100,000 trained health professionals were unemployed as of the end of 2025.

He said the affected personnel include nurses, midwives and allied health professionals.

Speaking on Accra-based Citi FM on Wednesday, April 22, the Minister explained that while the country continues to produce large numbers of health workers, financial constraints are limiting employment opportunities.

“We have a challenge where we are producing a lot of health professionals… at the end of 2025, we’re around 100,000 health professionals who have been trained and they are at home,” he said.

He added that government is unable to absorb all qualified personnel due to budgetary limitations.

“We cannot absorb all the 100,000 people in our health system for them to get spaces… we can only employ what you can pay,” he noted.

Akandoh further explained that government inherited a backlog of health workers without corresponding financial provision.

He, however, noted that his ministry has taken steps to migrate them onto the payroll gradually.

He indicated that payment of arrears is being phased, with plans to clear outstanding obligations in the coming months.