The Health Committee of Parliament has called on the Ministry of Finance to release funds for the recruitment of about 1,000 unemployed doctors, more than 48,000 nurses, and thousands of pharmacists across the country.

The appeal follows the Committee’s visits to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on September 3 and the Greater Accra Regional Hospital on September 4, where it emerged that inadequate staffing was hampering the delivery of quality healthcare.

Chairman of the Committee, Dr. Mark Kurt Nawaane, underscored the need for urgent government investment in the health sector.

“Shortage of staff, I think, is nationwide, and we will continue to talk to the Minister of Finance [Ato Forson]. That problem is not with the Ministry of Health; it is with the Ministry of Finance, where we have about 1,000 doctors at home, over 48,000 nurses at home, 1,000 pharmacists at home and Allied health scientists, who are also at home,” he said.

Dr. Nawaane added that increased spending on healthcare would generate significant returns for the country. “We will continue to work hard to ensure to get the Ministry of Finance understands that investment in health will yield about nine or ten times, and so we need to spend more on health,” he stressed.