The Minister of Health, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has announced that the Ministry of Health is set to collaborate with the University of Cape Coast (UCC) to train health professionals as specialists. The initiative aims to address growing unemployment within the health sector and meet global demand for qualified healthcare personnel.
Speaking on Channel One TV on Tuesday, the minister outlined government strategies to tackle employment challenges and streamline financial clearance processes for the payment of salaries to newly recruited health workers.
According to Hon. Akandoh, more than 70,000 trained but unemployed health personnel are currently waiting to be absorbed into the public health system. To ease the pressure, the ministry has introduced a Managed Migration Policy, which seeks to deploy some health professionals to other countries in need of healthcare workers.
As part of this policy, the ministry is partnering with the University of Cape Coast to develop a curriculum focused on training health professionals to specialize in specific fields. The goal, according to the minister, is to produce globally competitive specialists while maintaining high standards of quality.
“The ministry is collaborating with the University of Cape Coast to develop curricula that will enable us to train more specialists. Without compromising quality, we aim to design a one-year programme to meet global standards, allowing us to export skilled professionals while maintaining the optimal workforce we need locally,” Hon. Akandoh.
Meanwhile, the minister also addressed concerns about the illegal importation of opioids into the country. He emphasized the ministry’s firm stance against the entry of such substances and highlighted strict monitoring at Ghana’s borders.
“Apart from the ports and the Kotoka International Airport, no medications should enter the country through any other border. Any banned drugs found are confiscated and destroyed,” he stated.
Hon. Akandoh reiterated the ministry’s commitment to fighting the menace of opioid abuse and protecting public health across the country.
