“A nation that delays the wages of its healers is already sick at heart.”
Across Ghana, hundreds of nurses and other health professionals have endured nearly ten months without pay. In protest, they marched to the Ministry of Health and later to the Ministry of Finance, pleading for what should have been a basic right. Yet, despite these hardships, many continue to report for duty. They continue to heal, comfort, and serve, even while being denied the means to sustain their own lives.
This situation goes beyond salary delays. It reflects a deeper and more troubling reality: weak governance and an absence of accountable leadership within the health system.
Governance Breakdown
The persistent failure to pay health workers for extended periods reveals a serious breakdown in coordination between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ghana Health Service. It exposes a bureaucracy that reacts rather than plans, and one that justifies inefficiency instead of reforming it.
In well-functioning health systems such as the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, timely payment is considered a duty of care and a safeguard for the workforce. A system that cannot guarantee the financial security of its employees cannot claim to protect its citizens. Excellence cannot thrive among professionals who live with anxiety, uncertainty, and hunger.
The Human Cost
A nurse who walks miles to work each morning, or who cannot pay rent because their salary has been withheld, is both a hero and a victim of state neglect. Many borrow money to survive. Some skip meals. Others quietly consider leaving the country altogether. The psychological effects are immense. Stress, burnout, and moral injury are now common among these workers who have chosen to serve despite the odds.
These are not numbers on a spreadsheet. They are human beings who hold Ghana’s fragile health system together with compassion and resilience.
When Morale Dies, Systems Collapse
Each year, Ghana loses thousands of trained nurses, midwives, and doctors to countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and several nations in the Middle East. The decision to migrate is not always about money. It is also about respect, stability, and professional dignity.
Meanwhile, Ghana continues to train health professionals who eventually serve other nations. This is a painful paradox for a country still struggling to meet its own basic health needs.
If governance is not strengthened, Ghana will lose its healers long before it cures its sick.
The Systemic Cure
This crisis requires more than statements and promises. It demands intentional leadership and practical reform. Three interventions are particularly urgent.
1. Establish a Safeguarding Leadership Framework
Health governance must prioritise workforce welfare and professional protection. Safeguarding should not end with patient care. It must also include the wellbeing and safety of staff.
2. Digitise and Integrate Payroll Systems
Human Resources, Finance, and the Ghana Health Service must be connected through a single, verified biometric database. This integration will remove unnecessary delays, reduce political interference, and ensure accountability.
3. Create a Health Workforce Ombudsman
An independent body should be established to investigate complaints relating to pay, welfare, and workplace safety. Transparency must become a principle of leadership, not an afterthought.
Leadership Is the Missing Vaccine
The greatest illness within Ghana’s health sector is not malaria, cholera, or even COVID-19. It is leadership apathy.
A government that neglects the welfare of its healers cannot expect its people to be healthy. The true strength of a health system is not measured by the number of hospitals constructed, but by how a nation values and protects those who keep the system alive.
Ethical leadership begins with the understanding that health workers are not financial burdens. They are vital assets whose wellbeing determines the overall health of the nation.
About the Author
Christian Aboagye is a Mental Health Practitioner and NHS Governor at the Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. He is pursuing an MSc in Advanced Leadership in Professional Practice at the University of Manchester. He is also the Founder of Krisem Limited and Krisem News (UK), where he advocates for ethical leadership, mental health, and safeguarding within health systems.
