The Health Committee of Parliament has urged the Ministry of Finance to allocate funds for the hiring of approximately 1,000 unemployed doctors, over 48,000 nurses, and numerous pharmacists nationwide.
This request comes after the Committee’s visits to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on September 3 and the Greater Accra Regional Hospital on September 4, where it was revealed that insufficient staffing was obstructing the provision of quality healthcare.
The Chairman of the Committee, Dr. Mark Kurt Nawaane, emphasized the necessity for immediate government investment in the health sector.
“The shortage of staff is, I believe, a nationwide issue, and we will persist in our discussions with the Minister of Finance [Ato Forson]. The challenge lies not with the Ministry of Health; rather, it is with the Ministry of Finance, where we have around 1,000 doctors, over 48,000 nurses, 1,000 pharmacists, and Allied health scientists all without employment,” he stated.
Dr. Nawaane further noted that increased healthcare spending would result in substantial returns for the nation.
“We will continue to strive to ensure that the Ministry of Finance recognizes that investing in health will yield returns of about nine or ten times, thus we must increase our expenditure on health,” he asserted.
