The Association of Medical Councils of Africa (AMCOA) will bring together medical regulators from across the continent in Accra to discuss health worker migration, patient safety and the regulation of healthcare professionals.

The 28th AMCOA Annual Conference is scheduled for August 23 to 27, 2026, at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra under the theme: “Regulation for Safer Communities Towards Universal Health Coverage.”

Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council, Dr Divine Ndonbi Banyubala, said the increasing movement of healthcare professionals across borders requires stronger coordination among regulatory authorities.

“That is one of the high-level conversations we’ll be having at this conference,” he said on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday, August 20.

Dr Banyubala explained that AMCOA comprises medical regulatory and professional authorities responsible for ensuring that healthcare professionals are properly trained, registered, licensed and maintain the required standards of practice.

“We are talking about institutions that are working every day to ensure that the doctors, the dentists, the physicians, or any of the other regulated healthcare professionals on our continent are properly trained, properly registered and licensed,” he said.

Focus on safe health worker mobility

Dr Banyubala said the movement of healthcare professionals between countries was not inherently problematic, but stressed the need for regulatory systems to keep pace with increasing mobility.

“Mobility itself is not necessarily a problem,” he said, adding that such movement must be “safe, transparent, and properly managed.”

A major focus of the conference will be the African Healthcare Practitioner Regulatory Policy Outlook, which examines health workforce mobility and how African countries can strengthen and align their regulatory systems to respond to the movement of healthcare professionals across borders.

Dr Banyubala said stronger regulatory coordination was essential to ensure that practitioners moving between jurisdictions continued to meet professional and safety standards.

Quality and safety key to universal health coverage

He also linked healthcare regulation to the broader objective of achieving universal health coverage, arguing that access to healthcare must go hand in hand with quality and patient safety.

“People must have access, but also access to basic quality and safe healthcare,” he said.

According to Dr Banyubala, expanding access to healthcare without guaranteeing quality and safety could undermine the benefits of universal health coverage.

“There is little value, actually, you will agree with me, in expanded access if quality and safety cannot be guaranteed,” he added.

Ghana’s approach to health worker migration

Dr Banyubala said Ghana’s efforts to manage the migration of healthcare professionals also highlight the importance of collaboration among government institutions.

He cited cooperation between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of efforts to manage the movement of healthcare workers.

He, however, stressed that protecting patients must remain at the centre of any policy governing health worker mobility.

“Whilst practitioners may cross borders, patient safety must cross with them,” he said.

The conference is expected to provide a platform for African medical regulators to exchange ideas and strengthen regulatory approaches aimed at protecting patients while facilitating safe and responsible mobility of healthcare professionals across the continent.