The announcement was made at a press conference in Accra by the Director of Human Resources at the Ministry of Health, Frederick Mensah-Acheampong, who described the exercise as highly competitive given the large pool of qualified applicants.
The recruitment forms part of the government’s broader free primary healthcare initiative, designed to deploy trained professionals to areas with critical staffing gaps and improve access to essential health services at the community level.
Mr. Mensah-Acheampong noted that the exercise is guided by the government’s Primary Healthcare policy, which places emphasis on preventive care, community-based services, and the strengthening of primary healthcare delivery, particularly in underserved areas.
Beyond nurses and midwives, the process also recorded the recruitment of 771 out of 900 allied health professionals, 235 out of 250 pharmacy professionals, and 300 physician assistants, reflecting a broad effort to address staffing shortfalls across multiple health disciplines.
Overall, the Ministry received financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance to recruit approximately 8,000 health professionals.
“We have received financial clearance to recruit about 8,000 health professionals from the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry acknowledges the anxiety and interest these recruitment exercises have generated, particularly given the backlog of about 105,000 unemployed health professionals, some of whom have been awaiting recruitment since 2018 and 2019,” Mr. Mensah-Acheampong stated.
He added that although approximately 87 nursing slots remain unfilled in the Northern districts, a mop-up exercise will be conducted in the coming weeks to absorb eligible applicants who were unable to complete the recruitment process.
