The Private Health Facilities Association of Ghana (PHFAoG) has urgently requested formal dialogue with the Ministry of Health to establish a mutually beneficial staffing support framework, warning that excluding private providers from state-backed medical deployments threatens to create a discriminatory “two-tier” national healthcare system.
The association’s demand comes as a direct response to statements made in Parliament on 16th June 2026 by the Minister of Health.
The Minister stated that government-recruited health professionals, fully compensated by the state, would only be posted to public institutions under the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and non-profit private networks like the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG).
The Minister’s remarks were prompted by an inquiry from the Member of Parliament for Akim Oda, Hon Alexander Akwasi Acquah, regarding state strategies to absorb expanding healthcare workforces while upgrading nationwide medical access.
In a formal press statement released on Monday, 22nd June 2026, PHFAoG President Dr Kwame Buabeng-Frimpong argued against the policy, stating that patient care should not be dictated by facility ownership structures.
“The Ghanaian who walks into a PHFAoG hospital, clinic, maternity home, or health centre in labour at 2:00 a.m. deserves the same chance at a skilled midwife as the one who walks into a GHS or CHAG facility,” Dr Buabeng-Frimpong stated, adding that healthcare is ultimately about saving lives rather than ownership structures.
The association highlighted its substantial footprint in the country’s health infrastructure to back its case, noting that PHFAoG members operate over 3,000 certified health facilities across Ghana and serve more than 40 per cent of the national population daily.
In many rural areas and urban districts, private clinics and maternity homes represent the primary or sole point of accessible medical care.
PHFAoG emphasised that its member facilities shoulder the exact same national medical burdens as public counterparts—managing maternal and child health, treating non-communicable diseases (NCDs), delivering emergency triage, and processing National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) claims—while operating under identical macro-economic pressures.
Clarifying their position, the association noted that they are not seeking full state compensation or preferential treatment, but rather integration into the national workforce deployment framework.
To resolve the ongoing staffing deficit across both sectors, PHFAoG has formally proposed a multi-pronged solution starting with the implementation of targeted staff posting support to private facilities, with an emphasis on rural and underserved communities, mirroring current CHAG operational models.
Additionally, the association is calling for collaborative discussions on flexible compensation frameworks, which could include partial salary support, bonded public postings, tax relief offsets, or results-based funding metrics tied directly to NHIS and Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) delivery.
Finally, they are urging an immediate convention between the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ghana Health Service (GHS), Ministry of Finance (MoF), and private stakeholders to draft a sustainable model that successfully balances fiscal discipline with equitable health access.
Have a news tip or a correction regarding this story? Reach out to our editorial desk at elishaadarkwah@gmail.com or contact us on 0245975627.