Over 8,000 nurses and midwives trained in Ghana have left the country between January 2022 and June 2023.
Data from the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) shows that about 4,000 nurses and midwives have left the country in 2022 to seek greener pastures abroad.
Between January and June 2023, another 4,000 Ghanaian nurses and midwives left Ghana in search of greener pastures abroad.
GRNMA data also shows that from January to July 2023, a total of 10,209 nurses and midwives sought clearance with the association to travel outside the country.
A study has revealed that 59.9% of nurses in active practice have immigration intentions
A recent survey of 360 doctors currently practicing in Ghana showed that about 905have ever considered leaving the country to move to more developed countries.
Mr Felix Nyante, Head of Health Training Institutions at the Ministry of Health (MoH), has admonished health professionals who travel to work outside the country not to stay abroad forever.
At the induction of about 1,500 members and associate with different nursing specialties into the Ghana Nursing and Midwifery College (GNMC) in Accra, he said “It is our wish that you do not go, so that we stay to build Mother Ghana, if you have made up your mind that tomorrow you are going to the airport, rescind your decision,” he said.
The new members and associates of the college graduated with specialised skills in Emergency, Neonatal, Oncology, Pediatric, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) nursing.
He said the health service needed trained health professionals to stand in the gap, saying ‘the service has so much confidence in specialized professionals and that the Government is prepared to use collaborative methods to make healthcare attractive to all.’
Mr Nyante asked the newly inducted professionals to be innovative and transformational leaders and change health outcomes with their acquired skills.
“Don’t let it be business as usual, save lives and prevent maternal deaths,” he said.
The Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives is an institution established by an act of parliament 10 years ago to promote specialist education, continuous professional development, postgraduate nursing, midwifery, and related programmes to contribute to the formulation of policies to improve health outcomes.
