Ghana and Jamaica have formally signed a landmark bilateral health workforce agreement, paving the way for the deployment of Ghanaian health professionals to the Caribbean nation by close of June, 2026.
An estimated 74,000 trained health professionals in Ghana, including nurses, midwives and allied health workers, remain unemployed despite completing their training, largely due to fiscal constraints and limited recruitment into the public sector.
However, the new bilateral health workforce agreement is expected to create fresh employment opportunities as the two countries prepare to begin the deployment of Ghanaian health professionals to the Caribbean nation by the end of June this year.
The announcement was made by Ghana’s Health Minister, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, during bilateral talks with Jamaica’s Minister of Health and Wellness, Christopher Tufton, in Accra.
According to the Health Minister, the proposed labour mobility agreement has successfully completed all technical, administrative, legal and diplomatic processes and formally signed by both countries.
He said both countries are currently working on deployment schedules, documentation processes, professional licensing arrangements, welfare support systems and institutional coordination mechanisms to ensure a smooth rollout of the programme.
He described the development as a major milestone in strengthening cooperation between Ghana and Jamaica, noting that the agreement will facilitate the ethical recruitment and deployment of Ghanaian health professionals to Jamaica while creating employment opportunities and enhancing professional development.
‘‘The arrangement would also support skills exchange, knowledge transfer and broader collaboration aimed at strengthening health systems in both countries.’’
The Minister stressed that Ghana remains committed to ensuring that health worker mobility is guided by internationally accepted ethical recruitment principles and protects the interests of both nations.
The Minister further commended Jamaica for its commitment to fair labour practices, decent working conditions and professional development opportunities for Ghanaian health workers who will be deployed under the programme.
‘‘Discussions on implementation have advanced significantly and the first batch of Ghanaian health professionals is expected to depart for Jamaica in June this year’’. He said
Jamaica’s Minister of Health and Wellness, Christopher Tufton, on his part however described the emerging health workforce agreement between Ghana and Jamaica as more than a labour mobility arrangement, saying it represents a commitment to addressing global inequalities in healthcare access.
During the bilateral talks, he said the partnership demonstrates the determination of both countries to improve healthcare delivery for their citizens while contributing to a broader humanitarian cause.
‘‘The realities of our current world is that the inequalities of access to health care is a real challenge, and indeed it appears to be getting worse, not better, and it defies the principle of optimizing the best care if collaboration and partnership takes place, and too often the rhetoric around collaboration does not match the actions on the ground to ensure that there’s equitable distribution, access, and availability of health care for mankind, for the world, too many places have more than enough, and too many places have none at all.’’
As part of the visit, the Jamaican delegation is expected to tour selected health facilities and regulatory institutions in the Greater Accra and Eastern regions to gain first-hand insight into Ghana’s healthcare delivery system and explore further opportunities for collaboration.
Beyond workforce mobility, the two countries are also discussing partnerships in specialist medical training, nursing education, public health, pharmaceutical development, plant medicine research, digital health systems, emergency preparedness, health tourism and scientific research.
Source:3news.com