In a significant move to strengthen the country’s healthcare workforce, the Mahama administration has successfully enrolled 13,500 nurses and midwives onto the government payroll and approved a structured plan to clear their outstanding salary arrears—resolving a protracted crisis that left thousands of health workers unpaid for months.
The development, announced by Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, marks the culmination of efforts to rectify what officials describe as a “legacy challenge” inherited from the previous administration.
A Crisis Inherited
When President John Dramani Mahama assumed office in January 2025, the health sector was burdened with significant liabilities. According to the President’s 2026 State of the Nation Address, approximately 103,000 trained health workers were awaiting placement, employment, or enrolment onto the government payroll. Among them were 13,500 nurses and midwives recruited in 2024 whose financial clearances had expired in December 2024—before their postings took effect.
Health Minister Akandoh revealed that the then Akufo-Addo government had recruited these health workers without any budgetary allocation to pay them. “The clearance expired on 31st December 2024. What it means is that… you must necessarily have all these 13,500 people on the payroll. As at the end of 31st December 2024, not a single one of the 13,500 people were on the payroll,” Akandoh explained.
Faced with the choice of either sending the workers home or keeping them in service while sourcing funds, the government opted to retain them. “We could not allow the 13,500 people to go home and add to the over 74,000 health professionals who have already been trained and are at home,” the Minister stated.
Enrollment and Payment Plan
In November 2025, Akandoh announced that the Mahama administration had successfully concluded the recruitment process initiated by the previous government, facilitating the enrollment of all 13,500 nurses and midwives onto the government payroll. Speaking at the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) 19th Biennial Conference in Tamale, the Minister assured that all newly engaged personnel who experienced salary delays would receive their payments.
By October 2025, over 7,000 of the affected workers had already begun receiving their salaries, while clearance had been secured for the remaining 6,500. Cabinet subsequently approved the immediate payment of salaries for the outstanding workers, with disbursements commencing in November 2025.
To clear the accumulated arrears, the government approved a structured four-month payment plan spanning April to July 2026. Under the arrangement:
· April 2026: Two months of arrears settled
· May, June, and July 2026: Three months each
By the end of July 2026, all validated arrears are expected to be fully cleared.
Broader Health Sector Reforms
The enrollment of the 13,500 health workers is part of a wider overhaul of Ghana’s health sector. In his 2026 State of the Nation Address, President Mahama disclosed that direct government funding would account for about 72 percent of total health spending in 2026, up from 56.8 percent in 2023. Core health allocations have risen to GH¢23.3 billion, with total health financing now standing at GH¢34.7 billion.
President Mahama also announced that nursing trainee allowances have been restored and regularised, with GH¢462 million disbursed to support the training allowances of 120,000 nursing students nationwide. Additionally, the government has reduced application fees and extended the No-Fee Stress initiative to ease access to training.
The President further revealed that Ghana’s health workforce density has increased significantly—from 16.6 per 10,000 people in 2025 to nearly 42 per 10,000 currently—with public sector health employment doubling to about 200,000 workers.
Stakeholder Reactions
The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has welcomed the announcement, describing it as a positive step that would help restore calm and boost morale among members.
The Ministry of Health commended the affected nurses and midwives for their patience, dedication, and continued service throughout the period of non-payment. Despite significant financial hardship, many health workers remained at post, ensuring continuity of care in hospitals and clinics nationwide.
Akandoh has assured that the Ministry is instituting measures to ensure that financial clearance is secured prior to recruitment and posting of health workers to prevent future payment delays. “We encourage all affected staff to remain calm, continue to serve diligently, and channel any concerns through the appropriate authorities for prompt redress,” he stated.
President Mahama has appealed to health workers to accept postings to underserved areas, describing it as a “national call to duty,” while assuring them that the government is working to ensure an enabling environment. “Government will expand recruitment and take steps to add more health workers onto the payroll. We will introduce targeted incentives to correct the uneven distribution of health personnel,” he told Parliament.
Additional specialist training programmes in cardiology, nephrology, endocrinology, and oncology nursing are also being introduced this year, with scholarship opportunities for PhD-level training for nurses and allied health professionals.
