The Medical and Dental Council has announced plans to implement compulsory distribution of medical specialists across Ghana to tackle a stark regional imbalance.

Currently, 83% of specialists are concentrated in the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions, leaving patients in other regions with inadequate access to critical healthcare.

This initiative aims to ensure equitable healthcare delivery nationwide, addressing long-standing disparities and improving outcomes for underserved communities.

Registrar of the Council, Dr Divine Banyubala describes the situation as unacceptable insisting that under the proposed decentralization programme, specialists will be deployed across the country.

“64 per cent precisely are in Greater Accra region and then Ashanti region has an additional 19 per cent. Put that together and it is already 83 per cent and we think it is unconscionable for us as a statutory regulator to watch this happening,” he said.

He stated that the Medical and Dental Council, in collaboration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons and other key stakeholders, would work to address the inequities in distribution and also to ensure the provision of quality care across all areas.