The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has voiced concerns about possible unrest starting next week. This comes after the Ministry of Health announced financial clearance for 15,200 nurses and midwives who qualified between 2020 and 2024.
Speaking exclusively to labour correspondent Daniel Opoku in Accra on July 30, GRNMA President Perpetual Ofori Ampofo highlighted growing tensions within the nursing community. The confusion stems from ambiguity about which batches the financial clearance covers.
Currently, about 40,000 nurses and midwives from 2021 to date are still awaiting financial clearance. Mrs. Ofori Ampofo fears this could lead to significant agitation next week.
“If they agitate, how does it affect me? It doesn’t affect me in any way. It will affect the government, it will affect the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance, and it will affect the government in total,” she explained.
Mrs. Ofori Ampofo emphasized the frustration of those awaiting employment, pointing out the unfairness if newer batches are prioritized over those who have been waiting longer. She urged the Ministries of Finance and Health to secure additional financial clearance for the remaining nurses and midwives.
“My interest as President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, representing the interest of our younger colleagues who have also qualified to be employed, is to see to it that they get their posting done and they are able to practise what they have been trained to do. That is my interest,” she stressed.
She acknowledged that while the financial clearance is a positive step and a reward for the hard work put in through continuous engagement, its application could be problematic based on recent communications from the Ministry of Health.