Nursing Training Allowances Regularised and Restored – Mahama
By Praisebell Rosemond Larbi
President John Dramani Mahama has announced a significant improvement in Ghana’s health workforce capacity, revealing that the country’s health workforce density has risen from 16.6 per 10,000 people in 2025 to nearly 42 per 10,000 currently.
Speaking during the 2026 State of the Nation Address in Parliament, the President described the development as a major milestone in strengthening Ghana’s healthcare delivery system and improving access to medical services nationwide.
According to him, the sharp increase reflects deliberate government interventions aimed at recruiting and retaining health professionals, expanding training capacity, and addressing critical staffing gaps across health facilities.
“This remarkable improvement in health workforce density demonstrates our commitment to building a resilient and responsive healthcare system,” he stated.
President Mahama further announced that government will continue to expand recruitment and take the necessary administrative and fiscal measures to add more health workers onto the public payroll. He acknowledged concerns about delayed postings and payroll bottlenecks in recent years and assured that steps are being taken to streamline recruitment processes.
“We will expand recruitment and take necessary action to add more health workers onto the payroll,” he said, emphasizing that human resource investment remains central to healthcare reform.
He also announced that nursing training allowances have been regularized and restored, describing the move as critical to supporting trainees and strengthening the pipeline of future health professionals.
The President noted that restoring the allowances will help ease financial burdens on students in health training institutions and encourage more young people to pursue careers in nursing and allied health professions.
President Mahama further delivered a strong directive on emergency care, stressing that no patient facing a medical emergency should be turned away from a health facility.
“Patients facing medical emergencies must be received and given help,” he declared.
He noted that ensuring prompt emergency treatment is both a moral obligation and a public health necessity, adding that government will reinforce enforcement of protocols requiring facilities to stabilise emergency cases before any administrative or financial processes.
In addition to workforce expansion, President Mahama pledged to complete key stalled health infrastructure projects. He assured Parliament that work will continue and be completed on the Police Hospital project as well as the La General Hospital redevelopment.
He stressed that strengthening physical infrastructure must go hand in hand with expanding human resources to ensure improved healthcare outcomes.
The improvement in workforce density, combined with expanded recruitment, restored training support, and renewed commitment to complete major hospital projects, is expected to enhance service delivery in rural and urban communities alike, reduce patient wait times, and improve overall health outcomes nationwide.
President Mahama reiterated that strengthening healthcare infrastructure, expanding human resources, and enforcing patient protection policies remain central pillars of his administration’s social development agenda.
