Minister for Health Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has warned newly qualified doctors they will be removed from government payroll if they fail to accept rural postings by the end of February 2026.
Addressing lecturers and medical trainers at the University of Ghana College of Health Sciences, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Mr. Akandoh underscored the state’s substantial investment in medical education, exhorting young doctors to serve in underserved communities grappling with critical staffing dearth.
“By the end of February, we will conduct validation. If you have not reported, we will expunge your name from the payroll,” he cautioned.
The Minister though acknowledged legitimate concerns surrounding rural postings, emphasized the state’s considerable subsidy of their education warrants reciprocal service.
“I think we must convene to distill a solution to this conundrum. I concede that genuine concerns exist, but our education is heavily subsidized, even for fee-paying students. So, if the cocoa-producing farmers in my constituency, Sefwi Akontombra, have underwritten your education and you denied them care, citing the locality as a village, then I respectfully disagree,” he asserted.
According to the minister nationwide validation exercise will be undertaken by the end of February aimed at ensuring only doctors who have assumed their assigned duties remain on the government payroll. The Minister’s caution comes amidst tireless efforts to bridge yawning staffing gaps between urban and rural communities, where healthcare access remains woefully limited.
