The Ministry of Health has announced plans to introduce a volunteer programme for more than 6,000 unemployed health graduates as part of efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery in rural and underserved communities across the country.

According to the Ministry, the initiative will target health professionals who completed their training from 2022 to date but were not included in the ongoing recruitment exercise for the 2021 batch of nurses and midwives.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on Monday, May 18, the Director of Human Resources at the Ministry of Health, Frederick Mensah-Acheampong, said the programme forms part of broader efforts to address staffing shortages in deprived areas.

“We will also start the process of volunteer recruitment that the Minister has been talking about,” he said.

“So, we will also start that process. The volunteer recruitment will involve most of the health professionals.”

Mr Mensah-Acheampong explained that the programme would initially focus on nurse assistant preventive officers, alongside other support professionals required within the health sector.

“Basically, you look at the nurse assistant preventive first, and then you look at other assistants that will help,” he stated.

He disclosed that participants in the programme would receive stipends and be given priority consideration in future permanent recruitment exercises.

“These volunteers will be given some stipends, and then they will also be given some priority when they are going to do their next recruitment,” he explained.

According to him, this year’s volunteer recruitment exercise is expected to cover over 6,000 health professionals who completed their studies from 2022 onwards.

“This year, the recruitment of volunteers will cover over 6,000 prospective professionals who completed their school from 2022 to date,” he said.

Mr Mensah-Acheampong clarified that the ongoing recruitment exercise by the Ministry currently covers only the 2021 batch of nurses and midwives, and therefore excludes subsequent graduating cohorts.

“So, the 2021 batch that we are currently recruiting will not be part of it,” he said.

“For the nurses, we considered only the 2021 batch. Some have already been recruited while others are waiting, so they will not be part of the voluntary process.”

The Ministry said the initiative reflects the government’s commitment to expanding access to quality healthcare services, particularly in communities facing critical shortages of health personnel.

It also acknowledged that additional health workers are still needed to improve healthcare delivery nationwide.

“The Ministry of Health remains committed to creating recruitment opportunities for all categories of health professionals as demonstrated in the current process,” Mr Mensah-Acheampong stated.

He stressed that effective healthcare delivery depends on teamwork across all professional categories.

“Quality healthcare delivery in the health sector, as all of you know, depends on effective teamwork across all professional categories,” he said.

He added that the Ministry’s agenda is being driven by the vision of the Health Minister to ensure that health facilities across the country are adequately staffed.

“Our agenda is spearheaded by the vision of our Minister to ensure that our services are adequately staffed when we are recruiting health professionals,” he stated.