The Ministry of Health has expressed serious concerns over the increasing backlog of unemployed health workers in Ghana, linking the issue partly to the unchecked growth of private health training institutions.
This statement comes amid calls from the Parliamentary Committee on Sanitation and Water Resources for the Ministry of Finance to release funds to facilitate the posting of over 2,000 Environmental Health Officer graduates who have remained unposted since 2021.
These officers are seen as critical to addressing the country’s worsening sanitation challenges.
On the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday, May 29, 2025, Ministry spokesperson Tony Goodman explained that while the Ministry trains health professionals based on specific regional and national staffing needs, many private institutions continue to admit large numbers of students without aligning their training with actual demand.
Mr. Goodman noted that this misalignment has contributed to the backlog of nearly 100,000 unemployed health workers, some of whom have waited for employment for up to five years.
“We cannot recruit everybody this year; that is going to be suicidal. We have nearly 100,000 individuals who are currently at home and have not been employed for five years. So, we cannot use a year to recruit all of them,” he said.
He further criticized private institutions for admitting large cohorts primarily to generate profit, without regard to the Ministry’s staffing needs.
“You have various private training institutions that, because they have to run their institution and make a profit to be able to pay teachers, would admit a lot of numbers, churn them out, and tell the Ministry of Health to recruit them,” Goodman added.
The Ministry is urging a more coordinated approach to training and recruitment to better balance supply with demand and reduce the unemployment of qualified health professionals.
