The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has announced major progress in clearing salary arrears and recruitment challenges that the Ministry inherited after taking office.
At a press conference held at the Ministry today, the Minister explained that his outfit has been working closely with the Ministry of Finance to address long-standing payment delays affecting thousands of health workers across the country.
He revealed that 883 medical house officers who began work in 2024 without pay have now been placed on salary, while clearance has also been secured for 203 doctors employed late last year.
Approval he indicated had been granted for the recruitment of 800 doctors who completed their housemanship in 2024 but were still awaiting posting.
Akandoh further noted that 321 pharmacists who completed their housemanship early in 2024 have now received their allowances.
In addition, 15,755 rotation nurses and midwives, together with 2,154 allied health interns who had not been paid since completing national service, will begin receiving their allowances from next month.
Touching on the issue of 13,500 nurses and midwives whose financial clearance expired before their postings, the Minister said over 7,000 have already been paid. Clearance has been obtained for the remaining 6,500, which will be processed immediately.
He assured health workers of the government’s commitment to resolving all outstanding issues and preventing such delays in the future.
“The welfare of our health professionals remains a priority, and we are putting measures in place to ensure that these challenges do not happen again,” the Minister stated.
By: Jacob Aggrey