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The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has given assurances to the last batch of unpaid nurses that their salary challenges will soon be resolved.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Health, Mr Akandoh reaffirmed his commitment to working with the Ministry of Finance to clear all outstanding arrears. He sympathised with the affected nurses and stressed that no health worker should be engaged without valid financial clearance.
According to the ministry, the salary delays largely stemmed from the expiration of financial clearance granted in August 2024 to recruit about 13,500 nurses, which lapsed in December that year.
“Instead of asking them to stay home, the current government allowed the nurses to continue working while provisions were being made for their payment,” the statement said.
So far, more than 7,000 nurses have been paid, with about 6,500 still awaiting payment. The ministry described this as the result of special concessions by government to retain the health workers.
The ministry further assured that the payment challenges affecting other health professionals, including pharmacists, medical house officers, rotation nurses, allied health interns and junior doctors, have also been resolved or are being addressed.
On pharmacists and medical house officers, the ministry noted that although they began and completed their housemanship between 2023 and 2024 without pay, the situation has since been corrected and all allowances settled.
Similarly, junior doctors who faced delays despite the completion of payment processes have also received their salaries.
The Health Ministry emphasised that government is adopting pragmatic approaches to deal with such challenges in the health sector, adding that measures are being put in place to prevent a recurrence.
“The Health Minister reaffirmed his commitment to supporting health workers, stating that their welfare remains a priority as government works to strengthen Ghana’s health sector,” the statement concluded.
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