Ghana can't forgive snatching of her health workers

Ghana says it cannot forgive development partners who continue to snatch her health professionals who were trained at a high cost to the taxpayer. Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister of Finance who said this conceded Ghana's inability to compete with salaries paid to these professionals outside, and that "development partners should rather be helping us sustain their stay in the country where they are more needed."

He was speaking at the launch of the Ghana Macroeconomics and Health Initiative in Accra on Tuesday being Ghana's response to the World Health Organisation's Report of the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health, which aimed at scaling investment for the health sector. It is also aimed at pushing health finance from the current $13.00 per person a year to

between $30.00 to $40.00 per person a year to cover essential interventions.

This is the second time in recent months that government and the Ministry of Health officials have voiced concern over the rapid outflow of Ghanaian health professionals seeking greener pastures abroad. Osafo-Maafo said the developed countries spent huge sums of money to advertise and lure health professionals out of the country leaving most health institutions wholly starved. He said:" the world should not sit down unconcerned while least developed countries in developing economies continue to suffer the perils of globalisation.

Some doctors who spoke to the Ghana News Agency Business Desk sympathised with the government's programme to retain Ghanaian doctors, but said, "It is not comprehensive and adequate to meet our needs." They said "in a free market, there is very little government can do. Quick action to reverse the trend is needed".

The Ghana Medical Association at its recent annual general meeting said five nurses leave the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital each week for the UK. The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is not anything different and, on the average, only two nurses cater for 20 people.

Ghana News Agency's investigations showed that the situation has become so acute that Upper East Region, for instance, has one doctor to 66,000 patients. Accra has one doctor to 12,000 patients ratio while the whole Upper West has only three doctors. The Ministry of Health recently said between 200 and 2,000 doctors and nurses will leave Ghana this year.

Ghana produces 130 doctors a year, but has only 1,500 doctors at post today. About 1,000 Ghanaian doctors are reported to be in the New York and New Jersey area while over 400 are in the UK. Salaries for doctors in the US ranged between $200 to $250 while that for nurses range between $50 and $200 a day.

Twelve Cuban doctors, who were in the country assisting Ghanaian doctors and also manning health posts in the rural areas, returned home recently leaving gaps in the already precarious health delivery system.