Ghana faces a looming human resources crisis that could leave 180,000 trained health professionals unemployed by the end of 2028 if urgent intervention measures fail, Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has warned. The stark projection underscores the scale of a deepening employment backlog that threatens both healthcare service delivery and economic stability for thousands of skilled workers.
During an appearance on Channel One TV’s The Point of View programme, Akandoh disclosed that approximately 74,000 health workers currently remain unemployed, with projections showing additional cohorts of 23,000 by 2026, 35,000 by 2027, and 47,000 by 2028. The arithmetic is sobering: without meaningful employment interventions, the total backlog would balloon to over 180,000 qualified professionals by decade’s end.
The breakdown of current unemployment paints a detailed portrait of sectoral strain. Unemployed nurses represent the largest cohort at 48,878, drawn from the 2021 batch numbering 15,947, the 2022 batch with 17,176, and the 2023 batch totalling 15,755. Beyond nursing, allied health professionals total 21,570 unemployed, whilst 1,621 pharmacists remain jobless, with no financial clearance granted for allied professionals or pharmacists since 2019.
The financial burden of addressing this crisis is substantial. Ghana would require not less than GHS6 billion annually to absorb all 74,000 currently unemployed health professionals, a figure that reflects the ministry’s limited budgetary capacity during challenging fiscal times.
Recognising the urgency, the government is pursuing a multipronged strategy to manage the employment emergency. The minister outlined plans for phased domestic recruitment alongside exploration of international opportunities. Importantly, the government is pursuing what it calls “managed migration,” exploring collaboration with other countries seeking healthcare professionals, with approximately 13 countries expressing interest. However, most interested nations require specialist professionals rather than general health workers, creating a mismatch between labour supply and international demand.
Recent developments suggest incremental progress. The ministry announced that financial clearance had been secured for over 17,000 health professionals including rotational nurses, midwives and allied health interns affected by delayed postings. Additionally, issues concerning 13,500 nurses and midwives recruited in 2024 but awaiting payroll processing have been addressed, with salary arrears set to be paid.
Despite these steps, the underlying tension persists. The Minority in Parliament has criticised the Health Minister for delays in salary payments, describing the situation as unacceptable neglect of frontline health workers. Unemployment among health workers has also prompted demonstrations and public pressure on the ministry to accelerate recruitment and address grievances.
The crisis reflects structural imbalances in healthcare human resources planning. Ghana’s doctor-to-patient ratio stands at approximately one to 8,000, significantly below the World Health Organisation’s recommended standard of one to 1,000. Similar disparities affect nursing and allied health workforce distributions, particularly in rural and underserved regions.
Minister Akandoh acknowledged the enormity of the challenge whilst reaffirming commitment to addressing it. The ministry is coordinating with the Finance Ministry to gradually absorb unemployed professionals despite fiscal constraints, signalling that resolving this crisis remains a government priority even amid competing budgetary pressures.
