The Government will, in the coming months, sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States of America (USA) and the United Kingdom (UK) to officially deploy Ghanaian health professionals to work in those countries.
The Health Minister, Hon Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, disclosed this at the matriculation of 145 post-basic specialised nursing students being trained by the Kumasi Nursing and Midwifery Training College (NMTC) and the ENT Nursing School in Kumasi, with support from “Mahama Care”.
The programme is expected to introduce training in four new specialist nursing disciplines at the post-basic level, including Cardiology, Nephrology, Endocrinology, and Oncology, with Kumasi NMTC training 99 students and Kumasi ENT Nursing training 46.
The Minister noted that the move builds upon an existing agreement with Jamaica, which was signed recently, adding that the government has already successfully deployed about four batches of nurses abroad under its facilitated programme.
According to the Minister, the structured migration of health professionals is intended to serve as a financial pillar for Ghana because when these professionals work abroad, they send back remittances that form the backbone of the national economy.
Despite promoting external deployment, the Health Minister emphasised that the government will strictly enforce measures to prevent a domestic brain drain of critical skills.
The state will bar highly specialised health professionals from leaving the country if Ghana faces a total deficit in those specific medical areas.
To counter potential shortages and meet both urgent local needs and soaring global demands, Hon Akandoh said the ministry is aggressively expanding its domestic specialised training programmes.
The Minister highlighted that achieving a sustainable balance requires massive investment in infrastructure, equipment, human resources, and system strengthening.
In line with this, he said the government has introduced a competency-based curriculum for nursing education and is actively upgrading several institutions this year to run post-basic specialised nursing programmes.
Hon Akandoh said these comprehensive institutional upgrades are currently taking place at the Kumasi Nursing and Midwifery Training College (NMTC), Korle-Bu NMTC, the Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) School in Kumasi, Tamale NMTC, and the Critical Care and Perioperative School at Korle-Bu.
Following a successful pilot programme across centres in Korle-Bu, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and Tamale, he stated that the Ministry has enrolled 500 nurses into post-basic specialised training across various disciplines this year.
He added that the government’s target is to scale this number to enrol at least 1,000 nurses annually for the next three years.
To support this educational expansion, the Minister said the government has secured over 30 scholarships for health tutors to pursue PhDs, with commitments to sponsor more in the future.
Hon Akandoh explained that this aggressive training expansion is a deliberate policy to scale up specialised services to manage Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and other complex conditions.
He added that the ultimate expertise of these specialists will drastically improve patient outcomes, reduce medical complications, and drive Ghana closer to Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
He emphasised that the matriculation of the first cohort is an investment in the very future of healthcare in Ghana rather than just in individuals, reiterating his vision that every citizen, regardless of location, must have access to quality healthcare delivered by highly competent professionals.
For his part, the Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, noted that while Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics are advancing, they still cannot replicate the full scope of duties performed by trained healthcare professionals.
Urging practitioners to “outsmart” AI, he emphasised that machines entirely lack ethics, empathy, and the human touch.
He stated that pursuing post-basic specialised care and continuous professional upgrading is a key avenue for nurses to maintain their competitive edge and remain indispensable in the tech era.
The Principal of Kumasi Nursing and Midwifery Training College, Dr David Benjamin Sampson, appealed to the Health Minister for infrastructure support to develop a new satellite campus on its 5.3 hectares of land at Nkoranza in the Atwima Kwanwoma District.
He also urged the Minister to complete infrastructure projects being undertaken by the Kumasi ENT Nursing Training School at its newly relocated site at Abuakwa and to equip them with ICT facilities.
Additionally, he requested the Minister to provide both schools with pickup trucks and buses for academic and clinical training, as their current vehicles are outdated.
He further called on the Minister to intervene regarding the frustration and unfair treatment some students face when seeking study leave, urging intervention on behalf of those enrolled in the post-basic specialised training programme.
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