APA – Accra (Ghana)
The report that the recruitment of nurses by high-income countries from poorer nations is “out of control”, according to the head of one of the world’s biggest nursing groups is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that the recruitment of nurses by high-income countries from poorer nations is “out of control”, according to the head of one of the world’s biggest nursing groups.
The comments come as the BBC finds evidence of how Ghana’s health system is struggling due to the “brain-drain”.
Many specialist nurses have left the West African country for better-paid jobs overseas.
In 2022 more than 1,200 Ghanaian nurses joined the UK’s nursing register.
This comes as the National Health Service (NHS) increasingly relies on staff from non-EU countries to fill vacancies.
Although the UK says active recruitment in Ghana is not allowed, social media means nurses can easily see the vacancies available in NHS trusts. They can then apply for those jobs directly. Ghana’s dire economic situation acts as a big push factor.
Howard Catton from the International Council of Nurses (ICN) is concerned about the scale of the numbers leaving countries like Ghana.
“My sense is that the situation currently is out of control,” he told the BBC.
“We have intense recruitment taking place mainly driven by six or seven high-income countries but with recruitment from countries which are some of the weakest and most vulnerable which can ill-afford to lose their nurses.”
The head of nursing at Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Gifty Aryee, told the BBC her Intensive Care Unit alone had lost 20 nurses to the UK and US in the last six months – with grave implications.
“Care is affected as we are not able to take any more patients. There are delays and it costs more in mortality – patients die,” she said.
She added that seriously ill patients often had to be held for longer in the emergency department due to the nursing shortages.
The newspaper says that the full potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) initiative can be realised if significant investment is made to develop infrastructure, technology and human capital on the continent.
Also, for countries on the continent to derive maximum benefits from the AfCFTA, non-tariff barriers such as cumbersome customs procedures, divergent product standards and other regulatory barriers that hinder cross-border trade must be eliminated.
The Executive Chairman of Jonah Capital Limited, Sir Samuel Esson Jonah, who has made the call, further stated that to achieve that, African governments needed to commit to implementing the necessary reforms and improve the business environment.
Sir Sam Jonah stated at the Korea-Africa Business Summit in Seoul, South Korea.
Held on the theme: ‘An Era of Great Transformation: Leveraging Korea-Africa Economic Partnership,’ the summit attracted some former Presidents on the continent, business executives, ministers of state from Africa and Korea, and diplomats, among other dignitaries.
The AfCFTA, which came into effect in January 2021, is the largest free trade area globally, covering 55 African countries with a combined population of 1.3 billion people and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) exceeding $3.4 trillion.
This landmark agreement is aimed at fostering economic integration, enhancing intra-African trade and promoting industrialisation on the continent.
One of the key objectives of the trade agreement is to boost intra-African trade by reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers as well as eliminating or significantly reducing trade barriers such as customs duties and import quotas.
Speaking on the topic: “Trade and Industrialisation: Achievements of AfCFTA and Prospects for the South Korea-Africa Economic Outlook,” the Jonah Capital Limited Executive Chairman, explained that the AfCFTA represented a significant opportunity for African countries to “unlock their economic potential and drive sustainable development”.
The Graphic also reports that the government has launched a GH¢12 million enterprise support programme for persons with disability (PWDs) in the country.
The PWD Enterprise Support Programme seeks to offer technical assistance and grant funding initiatives exclusively to 150 enterprises owned by PWDs.
The proposed special window is expected to promote the welfare of the enterprises owned by PWDs through business and financial management training and grant funding.
It is targeting PWD enterprises in agriculture/agro-processing, construction, education, food and beverages, health care or pharmaceuticals, textiles and garments, manufacturing, information technology, tourism and hospitality.
An application portal will be opened from June 6 this year until the end of next month to enable businesses to seek the opportunity to benefit from the financial support to be implemented by the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) and funded by the World Bank under the Ghana Economic Transformation Project (GETP).
Launching the programme in Accra yesterday, a Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Stephen Amoah, said the government was committed to supporting all businesses in the country to ensure inclusive growth.
He said supporting PWDs in Ghana was essential for upholding quality inclusivity and fostering economic empowerment.
“It is important to note that interventions and programmes of such nature align with the government’s goals of providing training, capacity developing, funding, access to market and technology to enable them to scale up their businesses and transition into the next stage of growth, thereby improving their ability to increase sales and exports,” he said.
He said the government in 2021 transformed the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) into a bigger firm called GEA to efficiently manage micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
The Ghanaian Times says that the participants at a national dialogue on infrastructure delivery, have urged the government to involve citizens in the execution of development projects across the country.
This, according to them, would help prevent what they described as “project malpractices” on the part of some contractors, who carried out their mandate unprofessionally, by using poor materials and executing shoddy work.
The recommendation was made at a discussion, held in Accra yesterday, after monitoring of projects in parts of the country, carried out by SEND Ghana and Integrity Action, both non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The finding of the two NGOs showed that citizens want to be involved in the execution of projects.
The monitoring was done in Tamale, Yendi, Savelugu, Tolon, and West Gonja in Northern and Savannah regions to check the execution of infrastructure projects in health, education, water and sanitation, and other sectors within their communities.
A lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Dr Albert Arhin, presenting the findings at the forum said engaging citizens as watchdogs, would help governments to tap into local knowledge and networks that can lead to the timely identification of irregularities and avoiding costly project failures.
“Engaging citizens in monitoring activities fosters social capital, community cohesion, and civic participation, resulting in sustainable communities that are invested in the success of government projects,” Dr Arhin said.
GIK/APA
Ghanaian press zooms in on plight of patients as nurses head for jobs in UK, others
