Frequent labour unrest will produce more brain drain - NGO

The Universal Access to Healthcare Campaign (UAHCC), an NGO, has appealed to government to help address the frequent labour unrest in the health sector to prevent brain drain.

The Campaign said human resource was one of the critical prerequisites for Ghana’s quest to achieve Universal Health Coverage, and urgent attention needed to paid to labour agitations.

In a statement signed by Mr Archibald Adams, the National Campaign Coordinator of UAHCC, the Campaign appealed to government to organize periodic meetings with the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), and ensure that issues raised in the conditions of service were resolved without compromising the interest of either party.

He said the GMA, after a meeting with Government on Tuesday, June 29, decided to postpone its strike action from June 29 to July 29.

The GMA is demanding conditions of service for its members to be documented.

The campaign believes that because health is a critical aspect of life, the issues raised by GMA should be addressed before the deadline.

The Campaign is encouraging government to devise a strategy to employ all trained health professionals.

The campaign urges the Health Minister to go by his promise, and ensure that the members of the Coalition of Unemployed Nurses and Midwives are duly employed, and all arrears of salaries are paid and paid on time.

In another development, the Campaign is urging the Ghana Health Sector and the Ministry of Health to put in strategies to prevent the many needless deaths that occurred last year as a result of the outbreak of cholera.

The 2014 cholera outbreak recorded 17,000 cases with 150 deaths.

The Campaign believes that public education should be intensified, and advises Ghanaians to keep their surroundings clean, eat hot foods and always wash their hands with soap.

“The Campaign, which has membership of more than 500 NGOs across the country, will continue to advocate for the Universal Health Coverage for all Ghanaians,” the statement added.