Ministry of Health defends its recent recruitment of health professionals

The Ministry of Health has defended its recent recruitment exercise involving thousands of health professionals, stating that the process was carefully designed to support the government’s free primary healthcare policy and improve healthcare delivery in rural and underserved communities across the country.

Speaking at a press briefing, Director of Human Resource for Health Development at the Ministry of Health, Frederick Mensah Acheampong, disclosed that government granted financial clearance for the recruitment of approximately 8,000 health professionals despite a growing backlog of more than 105,000 unemployed healthcare workers nationwide.

According to him, many qualified health professionals have remained unemployed for years, with some waiting for recruitment opportunities since 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Mr Acheampong explained that the latest recruitment process was strategically aligned with Ghana’s free primary healthcare agenda, which prioritises preventive healthcare, community-level health services, and home-based care delivery.

“This recruitment exercise was heavily guided by the objective of the free primary healthcare policy with emphasis on strengthening preventive care, community-based care and primary healthcare particularly in underserved areas of the country,” he stated.

He revealed that staffing allocations were determined based on requests and workforce needs submitted by key health agencies, including the Ghana Health Service and the Mental Health Authority.

Unlike previous recruitment exercises that mainly focused on registered general nurses and midwives, the ministry said this year’s process placed greater emphasis on recruiting nurse assistants preventive and registered public health nurses.

According to Mr Acheampong, the decision reflects government’s broader strategy to strengthen preventive healthcare systems and increase access to primary healthcare services at the community level.

“These two professions supported about 40 percent of the 6,500 recruited nurses because the emphasis at this point in time is on free primary healthcare and home-based care,” he explained.

The ministry also introduced a new digital recruitment portal aimed at decentralising the recruitment and posting process while addressing longstanding staffing imbalances between urban and rural health facilities.

Under the new system, applicants were allowed to directly select their preferred districts instead of receiving postings centrally from the ministry, a move officials say is intended to improve staff distribution across the country.

“The ministry will not have any role to play again. It is the districts that will hold interviews and onboard successful applicants,” Mr Acheampong stated.

The ministry disclosed that the online recruitment portal experienced heavy traffic during the application process, with more than 53,440 health professionals successfully verifying their information on the platform.

Out of that number, nearly 30,000 applicants created accounts, while over 26,000 completed full profile registration and applications.

According to the ministry, enrolled nurses submitted the highest number of applications nationwide, recording approximately 4,158 applications.

In a significant shift, the ministry revealed that West Mamprusi District in northern Ghana recorded the highest number of successful applications for the first time, with more than 90 applicants voluntarily selecting the district for placement.

Officials say this development demonstrates progress in efforts to redirect healthcare professionals to deprived and underserved communities where staffing shortages remain critical.

“Previously after recruitment, people would troop and ask for changes to work in the cities, but this time when you apply you go directly to the district,” Mr Acheampong noted.

The ministry further indicated that several vacancies, particularly in northern Ghana, the Upper West Region, and the Savannah Region, still remain unfilled.

As a result, authorities plan to conduct a mop-up recruitment exercise in the coming weeks to fill remaining vacancies, including positions at teaching hospitals and specialised institutions such as psychiatric hospitals.

Mr Acheampong also addressed concerns over fraudulent recruitment schemes and middlemen who often exploit unemployed health workers during recruitment periods.

He disclosed that the ministry anticipated such activities and has already partnered with security agencies to investigate and clamp down on individuals involved in recruitment fraud.

“Whenever we start this process, applicants should not avail themselves to these corrupt individuals because they will take your money and they will not be able to secure recruitment for you,” he warned.

Successful applicants are expected to undergo document verification and district-level interviews before officially beginning work from July 1, 2026.

Beyond the current exercise, the Ministry of Health revealed that discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of Finance to secure additional financial clearance for the recruitment of more health professionals before the end of the year.

The ministry also announced plans to launch a volunteer recruitment programme targeting more than 6,000 health professionals who completed training from 2022 onwards.

According to officials, the volunteer programme will mainly focus on nurse assistants preventive and other critical support staff while preparing participants for future permanent recruitment opportunities.

Mr Acheampong encouraged applicants to continue updating their records on the recruitment portal and report any discrepancies directly to the ministry for resolution.