Thousands of qualified allied health professionals in Ghana are preparing for nationwide protests after years of unemployment despite critical staffing shortages in public health facilities.
The Coalition of Unemployed Allied Health Professionals Association of Ghana (COUAHP) says many members—including medical laboratory scientists, physiotherapists, radiographers, nutritionists, and mental health officers—have been sidelined since 2019. At a press briefing on May 26, coalition representatives donned red armbands and headbands to express their frustration with the government’s inaction.
Hussein Abdul-Baaki, COUAHP’s Public Relations Officer, highlighted the group’s plight, pointing to the added burden of mandatory annual license renewals at personal expense, even though they remain unemployed. “This intensifies our financial and emotional hardship,” he said.
The coalition is demanding immediate government action to recruit all qualified health workers awaiting employment, remove bureaucratic hurdles, and establish a transparent national workforce policy for the health sector.
With a two-week deadline issued to authorities, COUAHP warns that failure to respond will trigger widespread demonstrations, echoing earlier warnings from the Medical Laboratory Professional Workers’ Union on the urgent need to address the health workforce crisis.
