About GHS6bn required to address health sector unemployment- Health Minister
16th October 2025
Health Minister, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has revealed that Ghana would require at least GHS 6 billion to recruit the 74,000 unemployed healthcare professionals currently waiting to be absorbed into the public sector.
In an interview on The Point of View on Channel One TV on Wednesday, October 15, Minister Akandoh provided an insight into the financial challenges his ministry is facing in addressing the growing backlog of qualified healthcare workers.
“We will need not less than GHS6 billion to be able to absorb all the 74,000 health professionals at home at the moment,” he said.
The Minister’s comments come after Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem disclosed that Ghana has been struggling with a significant backlog of both healthcare and education professionals since 2019.
Mr. Ampem noted that although about 26,000 health professionals graduate annually, only half are typically employed due to budgetary constraints. The rest remain unemployed, adding to the increasing pool of qualified but unutilised workers.
Similarly, the education sector faces a backlog of 71,000 trained teachers, awaiting placement, as fiscal limitations continue to stymie efforts to address the employment shortfall.
Minister Akandoh acknowledged the challenges posed by the growing backlog, but assured that the ministry is working with the Finance Ministry to gradually clear the backlog. This includes placing newly recruited healthcare workers on the payroll, despite the ongoing financial difficulties.
His remarks highlight the urgent need for adequate funding and strategic planning to tackle the growing healthcare employment crisis in Ghana.