YEAR 2021 UNEMPLOYED NURSES STORM PARLIAMENT, PLEADING FOR IMMEDIATE POSTING

The General Secretary of the 2021 year Cohort of Unemployed Nurses Association of Ghana, Gideon Nsiah, has appealed to the Minority in Parliament for urgent intervention to get government to post over 11,000 trained nurses who remain at home.

Nsiah led members of the association to Parliament on Thursday, where they engaged the Minority Caucus to push their case. He said the group “ambushed” the Minority to seek help after months of waiting without postings from the Ministry of Health.

According to him, out of the 18,000 nurses who completed training in the 2021 cohort, only about 6,500 have been posted. The rest of us are still home. We have our licenses, we are ready to work, but there are no financial clearances for us, Nsiah told journalists after the engagement.

The group called on President John Mahama’s administration to prioritize health sector recruitment and release financial clearance for the entire 2021 batch. Nsiah stressed that posting trained nurses would not only reduce unemployment but also ease pressure on hospitals and clinics.

Dr Nana Ayew Afriye, Hon. MP for Effiduase/Asokore and Ranking Member on Health Committee, has pledged to intensify advocacy for the posting of the entire 2021 batch of nurses during the upcoming mid-year budget review.

Speaking to journalists in Parliament after meeting members of the 2021 Cohort of Unemployed Nurses Association of Ghana, Dr. Afriye criticized government’s handling of health sector recruitment. He said only 6,500 out of 18,000 nurses from the 2021 batch have been posted, leaving over 11,000 trained professionals at home.

The Lawmaker accused government of raising expectations with promises of automatic posting after training, only to leave nurses “in despair.” He said the administration’s position on the matter remains unclear to both the public and itself.