Ghana Health Service Discloses 525 Veteran Nurses Left Ghana In 2022, Rolls Out Programme To Replace Them

• The Ghana Health Service has lamented the continued flight of nurses from Ghana to Europe and other countries
• GHS Director-General Dr Patrick Kuma Aboagye has disclosed that 525 veteran nurses left the country, leaving a void
• Dr Kuma Aboagye explained that there are efforts to fill the huge void they have left but it will take about two years to achieve that

More veteran nurses are leaving the shores of Ghana for better opportunities in Europe and elsewhere, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has said.

GHS Director-General Dr Patrick Kuma Aboagye disclosed during a press conference on Thursday, August 17, 2023, that 525 nurses left the country in 2022.

He said although there are efforts to fill the huge void they have left, it will take about two years to do so.

"We are currently having recruitment for additional nurses across the country,” he said.

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Ghana patients in danger due to brain drain of nurses

In June the BBC reported that the head of one of the world's biggest nursing groups has noted with concern that the recruitment of nurses by high-income countries from poorer nations like Ghana has gotten out of control.

Poor conditions of service for nurses in Ghana and the country's dire economic situation have been blamed for the flight of nurses to Europe and the USA.

Ghanaian nurse opens up about making GH¢600 daily as a part-time food vender

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported that a driven Ghanaian lady known as Grace has recently revealed that she makes GH¢600 on most days selling food on the street.

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She shared that her grandmother started the business of cooked beans or "gob3" but she, along with her mother and sister, had to step in when grandma grew old.

The 24-year-old cooks the beans and other preparations for her sister to sell on days when she has to go to work but hits the street to sell on her off days.

Ghanaian nurses troop to British Council in large numbers for a chance to leave Ghana

Also, YEN.com.gh has reported that Ghanaian nurses were seen in their numbers at the British Council to take part in an IELTS programme, triggering concerns about brain drain.

Many Ghanaians who took to the comments section of the post by the British Council on March 22, 2023, either expressed worry about the desire of a large number of nurses to leave Ghana or the unfairness of the whole IELTS system.

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Some commentators on the Facebook post felt that many Ghanaians are convinced that they cannot find fulfilment in Ghana and hence, have to travel abroad for a better life.

Source: YEN.com.gh