Ministry of Health Begins Recruitment of 8,000 Health Workers, Opens Portal for Mop-Up Exercise
The Ministry of Health has begun the recruitment of 8,000 health professionals across the country, with a new online portal processing over 53,000 applications and a mop-up exercise set for the coming weeks to fill remaining vacancies.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, the Director of Human Resource for Health Development, Frederick Mensah Acheampong, said the exercise follows financial clearance received in April and is aligned with the government’s Free Primary Healthcare (FPHC) policy to strengthen services in underserved areas.
“The Ministry of Health wishes to update the general public on the ongoing recruitment process of health professionals across the country,” Acheampong said. “This recruitment exercise is heavily guided by the objectives of the FPHC policy, with emphasis on preventive, community-based, and primary healthcare delivery, particularly in underserved areas.”
8,000 slots, 53,440 applications received
According to the ministry, regional and district allocations were based on staffing gaps and submissions from agencies including the Ghana Health Service, CHAG, Ahmadiyya Health Services, and the Mental Health Authority. All regions received allocations, but not all districts were included.
Of the 8,000 slots, 6,500 were allocated to nurses and midwives, 900 to allied health professionals, 250 to pharmacy and pharmacy technicians, and the rest to physician assistants and clinical research associates.
The new recruitment portal recorded 53,440 uploaded records across professional groups. Registered General Nurses led with 4,158 active applications, followed by Registered Midwives with 3,503. In the first five minutes of opening, Greater Accra and Eastern regions submitted 217 applications, while Ashanti and Bono regions submitted 153.
At the close of the main application window, 6,245 nursing and midwifery applications had been submitted out of 6,500, and 771 out of 900 for allied health professionals.
Unfilled slots and mop-up exercise
The ministry said some categories, including Registered Public Health Nurses and Mental Health Nurses, still have over 80 and 87 slots unfilled respectively, mainly in northern districts. Physician Assistant vacancies are fully exhausted, while five slots remain for Clinical Research Associates.
A mop-up exercise will be opened on the portal in the coming weeks to fill the remaining slots. The ministry said it is working with the Ghana Health Service and CHAG to reallocate some unfilled slots to other cadres while keeping them within the original districts.
Successful applicants will be invited by their districts for interviews to verify documents and readiness to start work. Onboarding is scheduled to begin on 1 July 2026.
Fraud warning and future recruitment
Acheampong warned against fraudsters demanding money for recruitment, saying the ministry had collaborated with security agencies before and during the process and that some suspects were under investigation.
“We cautioned the leadership of the professional groups to warn their members not to avail themselves to these corrupt individuals,” he said.
The minister, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, expects additional financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance before the end of the year for further recruitment. The ministry also plans to begin recruiting medical officers for rural and deprived areas and to recruit over 6,000 volunteers, mainly Nurse Assistant Preventive graduates from 2022 to date, under a stipend-paid voluntary service scheme to support FPHC.
“The Ministry of Health remains committed to creating recruitment opportunities for all categories of health professionals,” Acheampong said, adding that the agenda to adequately staff underserved districts is “on course” to support Ghana’s Universal Health Coverage and SDG targets.
