President John Dramani Mahama has directed Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson to immediately settle all outstanding salary arrears owed to nurses and midwives. The directive comes after health professionals staged demonstrations and applied sustained pressure over delayed payments.
The issue stems from an inherited payroll situation, in which approximately 13,500 nurses and midwives were recruited and posted without secured financial clearance. The clearance subsequently expired on December 31, 2024, preventing formal allocation of salaries. Rather than dismiss these professionals, which would have compounded unemployment among over 74,000 trained health workers already without jobs, the government opted to retain them while seeking a financial solution.
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Significant progress has already been made: about 7,000 of the affected individuals are currently receiving salaries, while approximately 6,500 remain unpaid. Of this remaining cohort, 3,000 are on the payroll but not yet paid, and 3,500 are still being processed for payroll inclusion.
The Cabinet has now approved the immediate clearance of these arrears, with payments scheduled to begin in November 2025. A Ministry of Health official confirmed that the directive has been formalised in a letter to the Finance Ministry.
The government acknowledged the painful impact on health workers, attributing delays to the complexities of inter-ministerial coordination and the substantial burden posed by this large, unplanned expenditure on the public purse.
This high-level intervention underscores the administration’s commitment to ensuring timely payment of health professionals, recognising their critical role in Ghana’s healthcare system while maintaining focus on minimising unemployment within the sector.
Breakdown of Payroll Status for Affected Nurses and Midwives
| Status Category | Number of Personnel | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Total Affected Cohort | ~13,500 | Nurses and midwives recruited without financial clearance |
| Total Migrated to Payroll | ~10,000 | Individuals successfully added to the payroll system |
| Currently Receiving Payment | ~7,000 | On the payroll and actively being paid |
| On Payroll but Unpaid | ~3,000 | Added to payroll, but payments have not yet started |
| Not Yet on Payroll | ~3,500 | Still being processed for payroll inclusion |
| Total Outstanding (Unpaid) | ~6,500 | Sum of those on payroll but unpaid (~3,000) and those not yet on payroll (~3,500) |
