Fellow at CDD Ghana and Pharmacist, Dr Kwame Asiedu Sarpong has added his voice into the health sector unemployment in the country describing the government as a monumental failure.
The pharmacist in a write up on a facebook post stressed that the government’s failure to employ healthcare professionals in a timely manner has led to a significant backlog of unemployed nurses, doctors, and pharmacists in Ghana.
According to Dr. Kwame Asiedu Sarpong, the last time the government employed pharmacists in the Ghana Health Service was in 2020, leaving many newly qualified pharmacists without jobs.
Dr Asiedu Sarpong pointed out that the President of the Ghana Medical Association Dr. (Med) Frank Siribuor, highlighted that the lag time between graduation and employment is a major driver of health worker migration in Ghana.
He stated that almost 50% of all junior doctors who have trained in Ghana in recent years have left the country due to this issue.
Dr. Sarpong emphasized that his checks with other allied health professionals associations revealed that the situation for their members is no different, with a backlog of approximately 4-years of graduated healthcare professionals who haven’t been employed.
He further argued that despite these facts, some propagandists and apologists of the government have been spreading false narratives since 2020, claiming that there is no backlog.
Dr. Sarpong expressed his disappointment with these individuals, particularly doctors, pharmacists, and nurses who should know better, but are willing to lie and compromise their professional colleagues due to extreme partisanship.
He urged citizens to identify these propagandists and avoid their commentary, as they prioritize their political party over the well-being of healthcare professionals and the quality of healthcare citizens receive.
Read the full write up:
When it was announced that the government was commencing the employment of nurses, the Minister of Health stated that priority would be given to those who graduated in 2020. I pointed out yesterday that the statement meant these nurses had been unemployed for almost four years.
Yesterday, the President of the Ghana Medical Association Dr Frank Siribuor pointed out that a main driver of health worker migration in Ghana was the lag time between graduation and employment. He stated that many of these health workers obtain the requisite requirements for the country of their choice during this lag time and pointed out that as a result, almost 50% of all junior doctors who have trained in Ghana in recent years have left the country.
Concurrently, on the same day, The President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, Pharm Dr Samuel Kow Donkoh indicated that the last time the government employed pharmacists in the Ghana Health Service was in 2020. A situation he said had left many newly qualified pharmacists unemployed.
My checks last night with other allied health professionals associations point to the fact that the situation for their members is no different. In essence, there is a backlog of approximately 4-years of graduated healthcare professionals who haven’t been employed.
Yet, we had propagandists and apologists of this government who since 2020 have been spreading a false narrative that there is no backlog. Even more pathetic and disingenuous is that some of these barefaced liars are doctors, pharmacists and nurses who should have known better.
My disappointment with this cohort is that as a result of their extreme partisanship, they are prepared to lie through their teeth whilst compromising their professional colleagues and putting the quality of healthcare citizens receive at risk. How caning can you be? Even foxes have stopped behaving this way.
I will end this way, you felt getting people to call some of us names over the years for putting the truth out would stop us, but it wouldn’t and did not. For citizens reading it’s up to you to identify these propagandists and flee from their commentary. All they care about is their political party and they will even try convincing you that all rivers in Ghana are green in colour.
Source: Kwame Asiedu Sarpong CDD
