Hundreds of nurses and midwives who have worked for nearly 10 months without salary staged a massive protest in Accra on Thursday, October 2, 2025, demanding immediate payment of their long-overdue wages.
The demonstration, organised by the Coalition of Unpaid Nurses and Midwives, began at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park, from where the health workers marched through major streets of the capital to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health.
They carried placards and chanted songs of frustration as they delivered petitions to both ministries.
According to the convener of the coalition, Stephen Kwadwo Takyiah, the situation is not only demoralising but also undermines the delivery of quality healthcare across the country.
“We are not comfortable hitting the streets, but it has become necessary. We are citizens, trained as professional nurses and midwives from nursing training colleges and universities. We have worked without pay since December 2024, and we can no longer endure this hardship,” he told journalists during the protest.
A long wait for promised salaries
The nurses and midwives involved were part of the 15,000 health workers the Ministry of Health announced in July 2024 after securing financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance.
Out of that number, about 13,000 took up postings, reporting to duty in December 2024.
But the joy of employment was short-lived. By April 2025, only about 6,500 recruits had begun receiving salaries, leaving nearly 7,000 others unpaid despite working for almost a year.
Takyiah explained that most of the affected health workers graduated in 2020, completed their mandatory national service and rotations, and then endured three years of waiting at home before being recruited.
“We have sacrificed enough. We are trained professionals serving our nation, but we have been left with nothing to take care of ourselves or our families,” he lamented.
Frustration and broken promises
Many of the demonstrators carried placards with inscriptions such as “Ten months, no salary – how do we survive?”, “We heal the nation, pay us our dues,” and “Government, respect health workers.”
Some recounted their daily struggles to commute to work, feed their families, or pay rent.
Others expressed disappointment that, despite assurances from the government that the salary challenges would be resolved after financial clearance was granted, they continue to work without pay.
The coalition stressed that its patience had run out.
“We’ve been working tirelessly to serve the nation’s healthcare system, but the government’s failure to pay us is demoralising and undermines our ability to perform our jobs effectively,” Takyiah added.
Impact on healthcare delivery
The group warned that the failure to pay salaries risks affecting service delivery in hospitals and clinics across the country, as many of the unpaid workers are struggling to meet basic needs. Some indicated that their morale has dropped so low that they can no longer give their best in attending to patients.
The protest has intensified calls on the government to prioritise the welfare of healthcare professionals, especially at a time when the country is grappling with shortages of nurses and midwives in critical facilities.
Govt response awaited
At the time of filing this report, neither the Ministry of Finance nor the Ministry of Health had issued an official statement in response to the petition presented by the coalition.
However, the health workers vowed to continue pressing for what they described as their rightful entitlements until every single unpaid recruit is settled.
For now, the plight of nearly 7,000 nurses and midwives—working tirelessly in hospitals and clinics across Ghana without pay for close to a year—remains one of the most pressing labour challenges facing the country’s healthcare system.
