The Ministry of Health has assured the Junior Doctors’ Association and protesting nurses, and midwives that steps are being taken to resolve delays in the payment of salary arrears.
The assurance follows a planned nationwide withdrawal of services declared by the Junior Doctors’ Association of Ghana (JDA-GH), effective Tuesday, October 7, 2025, over months of unpaid salaries, stalled postings, and what they describe as persistent unfair treatment.
This announcement comes on the heels of a demonstration by a coalition of unpaid nurses and midwives on Thursday, October 2, demanding payment of salary arrears.
According to the group, over 7,000 nurses and midwives have been working for nine to 10 months without pay, despite being formally recruited.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Friday, October 3, Ministry of Health Spokesperson Tony Goodman explained that the salary delays stemmed from rushed recruitments, especially during the previous administration, which led to some health workers being placed on payroll without proper financial clearance.
“We had about 1,000 pharmacists who had completed their service but had not received their salaries, but they have now been paid. Some medical officers were also caught up in the same web, and they too have been paid.
“Currently, we have officers doing their house job asking for their salaries to be paid. With the medical doctors, it was a mix-up that has already been cleared and will be dealt with,” Mr Goodman stated.
He added that the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, is working to ensure all outstanding arrears are cleared.
According to him, the “rush” to post health workers who had been waiting for several years contributed to the payroll challenges. “Everybody who was not part of the financial clearance was caught up in this. As of yesterday, we have dealt with it. We now know those who have been paid and those who are yet to be paid,” he said.
Mr Goodman assured that the Ministry was committed to resolving the matter, stressing that new financial clearances are being processed to regularise the salaries of affected health workers.
