President Akufo-Addo has emphasized the importance of nurses and midwives accepting postings to rural and underserved areas where their services are most needed.
The President expressed concern that the refusal of some healthcare professionals to accept assignments in certain parts of the country hindered efforts to ensure accessible and high-quality healthcare services for all Ghanaians.
He made his concerns known during a grand durbar commemorating the 60th anniversary of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Ghana, Legon,
Under the theme “Resilience in Developing Nursing and Midwifery Workforce: Embracing Technology and Promoting Excellence,” the anniversary celebration highlighted the need for healthcare professionals to embrace technology and excel in their field.
President Akufo-Addo stressed the significance of equitably distributing healthcare professionals across the country. He viewed the concentration of health workers in cities and urban areas as unfair to the people residing in rural settings.
The President called upon nurses and midwives to follow the example of their predecessors who willingly served in any part of the country, even in challenging conditions without the present government’s incentive packages or optimal national infrastructure.
“Our schools of Nursing and Midwifery have got a good reputation and have been training good nurses and midwives who easily find work in all parts of the world.
“But the nurse-population ratio in our country remains unsatisfactory after 66 years of our nation. We currently do not have the number of healthcare professionals with the right mix of skills and expertise in some of our regions, districts, and deprived communities, especially in the newly created regions and districts.
“Nurses refusing postings is particularly distressing. I want to use this platform to encourage all health practitioners to follow the worthy example of your great forebearers who readily accepted postings in their early years when the national infrastructure was even more harrowing than it is now.
“Therefore, I am appealing to you as passionately as I can to accept postings to all regions and district hospitals where your services are most needed,” he said.