2021 Unemployed Nurses Storm Parliament, Demand Immediate Posting

The General Secretary of the 2021 Cohort of Unemployed Nurses Association of Ghana, Gideon Nsiah, has appealed to the Minority in Parliament for urgent intervention to get government to post over 11,000 trained nurses who remain at home.

Nsiah led members of the association to Parliament on Tuesday, where they engaged the Minority Caucus to push their case. He said the group “ambushed” the Minority to seek help after months of waiting without postings from the Ministry of Health.

According to him, out of the 18,000 nurses who completed training in the 2021 cohort, only about 6,500 have been posted. “The rest of us are still home. We have our licenses, we are ready to work, but there are no financial clearances for us,” Nsiah told journalists after the engagement.

He lamented the hardship members face, noting that some have been unemployed for nearly three years since completing their national service. Many, he said, are struggling to survive while health facilities across the country report staff shortages.

Nsiah argued that government promised automatic posting for nurses after training, but that commitment has not been met for their batch. With the 2022, 2023, and 2024 cohorts also awaiting employment, he warned that the backlog of unemployed health workers keeps growing.

“We came to Parliament because we believe our leaders must hear us. We are begging the government, the Ministry of Health, and the Finance Ministry to capture us in the mid-year budget review,” he said.

The group called on President John Mahama’s administration to prioritize health sector recruitment and release financial clearance for the entire 2021 batch. Nsiah stressed that posting trained nurses would not only reduce unemployment but also ease pressure on hospitals and clinics.

“We are not asking for too much. We just want to serve Ghana. Post us to work,” he added.

On his part, Hon. Dr Nana Ayew Afriye, MP for Effiduase/Asokore and Ranking Member of Parliament’s Health Committee, has pledged to intensify advocacy for the posting of the entire 2021 batch of nurses during the upcoming mid-year budget review.

Speaking to journalists in Parliament after meeting members of the 2021 Cohort of Unemployed Nurses Association of Ghana, Hon. Afriye criticized government’s handling of health sector recruitment. He said only 6,500 out of 18,000 nurses from the 2021 batch have been posted, leaving over 11,000 trained professionals at home.

“That’s not what the NPP used to do. We pick all of them. You don’t post them in batches,” he said. “Leaving trained nurses unemployed for nearly three years is unacceptable.”

The MP accused government of raising expectations with promises of automatic posting after training, only to leave nurses “in despair.” He said the administration’s position on the matter remains unclear to both the public and itself.

He thanked the nurses for engaging Parliament and assured them the Minority will continue to press government to release financial clearance for all qualified health workers.