Newly recruited nurses will see some financial relief as government announces payment of two months' arrears with a pledge to pay the next arrears covering three months, i.e., May to July 2026.

This was formally announced in a statement released today, Wednesday, April 29, by the Ministry of Health. The health authority expressed appreciation to affected nurses, highlighting the government’s commitment to strengthening the healthcare workforce and healthcare delivery nationwide.

“The Ministry of Health is pleased to announce that, in line with its commitment, two-month arrears for newly recruited nurses have been duly paid. The Ministry further wishes to assure all affected personnel that the next payment will be made for 3 months each, from May to July 2026, as announced earlier.

“The Ministry appreciates the patience and cooperation of all stakeholders and remains committed to strengthening the health workforce for improved service delivery,” parts of the statement read.

It continued that “Individuals experiencing any form of challenges or requiring clarification are advised to contact the Human Resource for Health Development Directorate of the Ministry of Health for assistance”.

Also, the Ministry revealed that about 16,000 health workers will be employed by the government as part of the government’s efforts to absorb the majority of the unemployed health workforce in the country. It also indicated that the Finance Ministry has already cleared about half of the intended number that the Ministry intends to absorb.

“ The Ministry of Health wishes to inform the public that, as part of the government's deliberate effort to absorb trained health professionals, plans are underway to recruit between 16,000 health workers this year. Financial clearance has been secured for about 8,000 so far, with efforts ongoing to obtain the remainder,” the Ministry continued.

To avoid a recurrence of recruiting nurses and later owing them salaries, the Ministry said it will not employ any health worker without prior budget approval, adding that recruitment will be done in phases.

“ No health worker will be engaged without financial provision. These clearances have been distributed across the various health cadres to facilitate the gradual absorption of personnel into the health system,” it noted.

Reiterating its commitment to transparency and fairness, the Ministry said the official recruitment portal remains the only authorised channel for all recruitment processes.It acknowledged that the high number of applicants has placed pressure on the system, with some candidates experiencing difficulties accessing the portal.

“The Ministry emphasises that the recruitment portal remains the sole and official channel for all recruitment processes; this measure is intended to promote transparency, fairness, and accountability.

"Due to the high volume of applicants, while many have successfully accessed the portal, others have experienced challenges, leading to understandable anxiety. The Ministry acknowledges these concerns and is actively working to secure additional clearances to accommodate more qualified applicants", the Ministry stressed.

About two months ago, the Coalition of Unpaid Nurses and Midwives in Ghana urged the government to immediately investigate and restore salary arrears, which it said had been removed from its members’ payment vouchers without being paid.

In a statement signed by its Convener, Stephen Kwadwo Takyi, the coalition explained that several affected members had their salary arrears validated on the government payroll system each month, yet the monies were not paid.

The group further noted that during the latest validation in February 2026, the accumulated arrears suddenly disappeared from their payment vouchers.

“We call on the Government of Ghana to act swiftly to investigate this anomaly, restore and pay all unlawfully removed arrears without delay to avoid any action from us,” part of the statement read.

The coalition further stated that when the matter was brought into the public domain, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department denied the claims.

It, however, maintained that its payroll validators and human resource officers across various health facilities have confirmed that the arrears were cleared from the payment vouchers of the affected nurses and midwives without any corresponding payment.

“Our questions are: who authorized the removal of our legitimately earned arrears and on what legal or administrative basis were these arrears cleared?” the coalition queried in the statement.