The Minister for Health, Mr. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has announced that the government will begin disbursing payments to more than 6,500 previously unpaid nurses and midwives starting in November 2025, following cabinet approval.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday October 13 in Accra, the Minister explained the government’s difficult decision-making process regarding the fate of these health professionals.
“As a government, we faced two options: either allow all 13,500 essential midwives and nurses to return home or seek the necessary funding to pay them. We chose the latter.
Letting them go would have added to the over 74,000 already trained but unemployed health workers,” he stated.
According to Mr. Akandoh, the issue of unpaid health workers dates back to before the current administration took office.
Despite financial constraints, the government allowed the midwives and nurses to continue working while efforts were made to secure funding for their compensation.
“To be completely honest, I have never regretted that decision,” the Minister said. “Since then, we haven’t been idle.
Today, 10,000 of the 13,500 professionals are on the payroll — with 7,000 currently receiving their salaries.
The remaining 3,000 are listed but not yet being paid.”
He clarified that another 3,500 individuals are still not on the payroll at all.
In total, 6,500 nurses and midwives are either unpaid or yet to be onboarded.
The Health Minister emphasized that resolving these issues requires collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, which controls the issuance of financial clearance necessary to add workers to the government payroll.
He cited several efforts made in partnership with the Finance Ministry:
Financial clearance has been granted for 883 house officers, enabling them to begin receiving allowances.
800 medical doctors who completed their housemanship but remained unemployed have now received clearance and will soon be deployed, particularly to underserved rural areas.
Similar challenges faced by junior doctors and pharmacists, some of whom had worked without pay or clearance since 2023, have also been resolved.
Clearance has also been secured for over 17,000 rotational health professionals who were previously in limbo.
“We inherited many of these problems. But by the grace of God, we have managed to secure clearance and place these professionals where they are needed,” he noted.
Mr. Akandoh concluded with a firm assurance that beginning in November 2025, the full cohort of 13,500 affected nurses and midwives will receive their due allowances, following cabinet’s recent approval.
He also confirmed that he is in possession of an official letter authorizing the payments.
“I empathize deeply with everyone affected by this prolonged delay.
Every health professional deserves to feel supported and valued. We are committed to resolving these issues one step at a time,” he added.
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