The government has secured financial approval to pay allowances and salaries to nearly 15,000 health workers in its latest step to resolve a persistent salary crisis that has dogged the health sector for years, while simultaneously announcing a structural policy shift that will end the controversial practice of accumulating payments and releasing them only at the end of service.
The Ministry of Health announced on March 13 that it had obtained financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance for the payment of allowances and salaries covering 14,279 rotation nurses and midwives, as well as 637 medical and dental house officers. The statement was signed by Ministry spokesperson Tony Goodman.
The clearance covers nurses across five categories: Registered General Nurses, Registered Midwives, Registered Mental Health Nurses, Registered Community Health Nurses, and Registered Public Health Nurses, all of whom commenced their mandatory rotation service in 2025 and are scheduled to complete it this year.
The 637 medical and dental house officers covered by the clearance graduated from public and private institutions, passed their Medical and Dental Council examinations, and were inducted into service on November 12, 2025.
End of a System That Built Up Debt
The more structurally significant aspect of the announcement is its forward-looking policy commitment. The financial clearance will not only settle salary and allowance backlogs owed to affected health workers, but will also introduce a new system of monthly payment of allowances during mandatory service, replacing the previous arrangement where payments were accumulated and settled only at the end of each service period. The new monthly payment framework will cover nurses, pharmacists, and allied health professionals.
The shift addresses a structural flaw that for years left newly trained health workers going months without income despite being deployed to serve in facilities across the country. It follows an earlier settlement announced on February 26, 2026, when the government disclosed a four-instalment plan to clear arrears owed to a separate cohort of 2024/2025 nurses who in some cases had gone unpaid for up to 13 months.
The Ministry stated that timely payment of allowances and salaries is not just about fulfilling obligations but about valuing the dedication and hard work of the health workforce. It said it would continue working with the Ministry of Finance and other relevant bodies to ensure health workers are adequately supported in delivering care to Ghanaians.
Health sector unions and advocacy groups have long warned that delayed payments drive trained nurses to seek employment abroad, contributing to Ghana’s persistent shortage of clinical staff in rural and peri-urban districts. The government has not yet confirmed a specific disbursement date for the newly approved payments.
