Ghana’s health sector has narrowly avoided a potential crisis following the government’s swift intervention to address the plight of unpaid junior doctors. The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, announced on Sunday, October 13, that clearance has been secured to migrate hundreds of junior doctors onto the public payroll — a move aimed at ending months of salary delays and easing growing tensions within the medical community.
The development follows recent threats of industrial action by the Junior Doctors’ Association (JDA), which cited months of unpaid salaries as the key reason for its planned strike.
Resolving Months of Salary Arrears
Addressing the media, Mr. Akandoh described the situation as dire, revealing that many junior doctors had been working for several months without pay or official clearance.
“You recently heard some junior doctors threatening to go on strike,” he noted. “They had started work without clearance, without salaries, without pay.”
He condemned the situation as unacceptable, particularly for professionals who are vital to the country’s healthcare delivery, and assured that the government had acted decisively to correct the lapse.
“We collaborated with the Ministry of Finance, and as I speak to you now, we have succeeded in getting them clearance, and they are being migrated onto the payroll,” the Minister confirmed.
The JDA had earlier disclosed that over 200 junior doctors were owed salary arrears ranging from 10 to 14 months — a challenge many attributed to slow administrative procedures in securing financial clearance for newly recruited health staff.
Curbing the ‘Brain Drain’ Threat
The payroll migration comes at a critical time when the exodus of healthcare professionals continues to threaten Ghana’s health system. Analysts have long warned that persistent salary delays and poor working conditions are among the leading causes of the ongoing ‘brain drain.’
Recent studies show that a significant number of young doctors express strong intentions to emigrate if their remuneration and working conditions do not improve. The government has acknowledged that the continued loss of medical professionals to countries such as the UK and the US undermines national efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030.
A Step Toward Stability
Mr. Akandoh described the intervention as a clear demonstration of government’s commitment to improving the welfare of health workers and safeguarding the stability of the sector.
“This move is a strong affirmation of the government’s commitment not only to their service conditions but to the broader stability of our health sector,” he said.
He urged the affected junior doctors to remain dedicated to their duties, assuring them that their financial concerns are being actively resolved.
The resolution of the salary issue is expected to restore calm within the health sector and prevent disruptions to essential services, particularly in major teaching and regional hospitals where junior doctors play a critical role.
Story By: Afia Ohenewaa Akyerem