“All 16 regions received allocations, but not all MMDAs were considered" - Ministry of Health

The Director of Human Resource for Health Development at the Ministry of Health, Frederick Mensah Acheampong, has revealed that although all 16 regions benefited from the ongoing nationwide recruitment of health professionals, not every Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assembly (MMDA) was captured under the current exercise due to limited vacancies and the need to prioritise underserved areas.

Speaking at a press conference held at the Ministry of Health Conference Room on Sunday, May 18, 2026, Frederick Mensah Acheampong explained that the recruitment process was guided by the objectives of the government’s Free Primary Healthcare (FPHC) Policy, which seeks to strengthen preventive, community-based and primary healthcare delivery, particularly in deprived communities.

According to him, the Ministry in April this year received financial clearance to recruit about 8,000 health professionals nationwide, despite the country currently having a backlog of over 105,000 unemployed health professionals.

He disclosed that regional allocations were determined based on staffing norms and annual human resource requirements submitted by key health agencies, including the Ghana Health Service (GHS), CHAG, Ahmadiyya Health Services and the Mental Health Authority.

“All regions received allocations, but not all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies were considered. For instance, in the Greater Accra Region, Ada West District, Ada East District and Ningo/Prampram Municipality were prioritised for this recruitment process,” Frederick Mensah Acheampong stated.

Providing details on the recruitment portal, he said the Ministry uploaded approximately 53,440 records across major professional categories to support the process.

The uploaded records included:

30,226 Allied Health Professionals from 2019 to 2024

16,860 Nurses and Midwives from the 2021 batch

4,631 Physician Assistants from 2018 to 2024

2,975 Pharmacists from 2019 to 2024

1,778 Pharmacy Technicians from 2019 to 2024

Five foreign-trained Clinical Research Assistants (CRA)

He further revealed that out of 29,893 accounts initiated on the portal, about 2,636 applicants failed to complete their profiles.

On active applications by professional categories, he noted that Registered General Nurses (RGN) recorded the highest number with 4,158 applications, followed by:

Registered Midwives – 3,503

Nurse Assistant Preventive (NAP) – 2,724

Medical Laboratory Sciences – 2,058

Medical Laboratory Technicians – 1,546

Nurse Assistant Clinical (NAC) – 1,329

Nutritionists/Nutritionist Technicians – 1,217

Registered Public Health Nurses (RPHN) – 960

Physician Assistants – 901

Nurse Officers – 804

Pharmacy Technicians – 720

Frederick Mensah Acheampong stated that the recruitment portal recorded extremely high traffic within the first few minutes after opening.

According to him, Greater Accra and Eastern Regions recorded 217 applications within the first five minutes Ashanti and Bono Regions recorded 153 applications within the same period

Central and Western Regions recorded 123 applications within five minutes.

He also disclosed that for the first time, West Mamprusi District in the Northern part of the country recorded the highest number of successful applications nationwide, receiving more than 90 successful applications.

On the allocation structure, he explained that Nurse Assistant Preventive (NAP) and Registered Public Health Nurses (RPHN) were prioritised under the nursing category because of their strategic role in implementing the Free Primary Healthcare Policy.

Out of the 6,500 vacancies allocated to nurses and midwives, over 40 per cent went to NAP and RPHN categories.

Giving an update on completed applications, he stated:

6,245 successful applications were received out of 6,500 nursing and midwifery vacancies.

771 successful applications were received out of 900 Allied Health vacancies.

235 successful applications were submitted out of 250 Pharmacy and Pharmacy Technician vacancies.

All Physician Assistant vacancies were fully exhausted.

However, he noted that over 87 vacancies remain unfilled on the portal, particularly for Registered Public Health Nurses, Mental Health Nurses and five remaining CRA positions, mainly in northern districts.

“The Upper East, Upper West and Savannah Regions received the highest allocation density because of the staffing deficits and healthcare demands in those areas,” he added.

Frederick Mensah Acheampong announced that the Ministry would soon reopen the portal for a mop-up exercise to fill the remaining vacancies and also address critical staffing needs in Teaching Hospitals, Psychiatry Hospitals and other specialised institutions.

He further disclosed that successful applicants would later be invited by their respective districts for interviews and document verification before assumption of duty on July 1, 2026.

He assured health professionals that the Ministry remains in active discussions with the Ministry of Finance to secure additional financial clearance before the end of the year to recruit more unemployed professionals across the country.

Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith