Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama has assured nurses and teachers of regulating their migration by securing contracts with countries in need of their services.

By this policy, institutions responsible for training the professionals will increase intake for surpluses to be exported.

The former President explains these professionals will return to the country following the expiration of their contracts.

“We want to increase the production of health workers and nurses. We will employ them to work for us but we will sign agreements with other countries where we can post our nurses and health workers to go and work on fixed contracts and come back”, he said.

He further explains, “Under the Ministry of Employment, we will have a unit that is able to recruit nurses, make sure they are of the standard that they can work in international hospitals and we will send them to go and work”.

In 2023, the Ministry of Health revealed approximately 2,000 nurses employed in state and mission health facilities in Ghana left the country for foreign countries.

About 1,400 nurses worked within the Ghana Health Service, while the remaining 600 were employed in facilities associated with the Christian Health Association of Ghana.

Management of many health facilities in the country continues to lose staff on daily basis.

In sustaining the policy, there is a need for adequate nurses to be trained for local health facilities and for export.

Mr. Mahama reveals the quota system in the training colleges will be eliminated for more people to be trained.

“We have to open up the numbers because right now there are quotas. If you go to our nursing training colleges, they have the capacity to employ more but the government is saying don’t employ more than this number. It is the same with colleges of education”.

Meanwhile, he indicated the policy will be extended to cover teachers as demands for their expertise continue to soar across the world.