The Coalition of Unpaid Nurses and Midwives on Thursday, October 2, 2025, staged a protest in Accra to demand the payment of nearly 10 months’ salary arrears owed by the government.
Clad in red bands and wielding placards, the demonstrators began their march at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park and proceeded to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health, where they presented petitions calling for urgent intervention.
According to the coalition, more than 7,000 nurses and midwives who were formally recruited through official government processes have worked without salaries since December 2024.
Convenor of the group, Stephen Kwadwo Takyiah, expressed disappointment over the government’s handling of the matter.
“We are not comfortable hitting the streets, but it has become necessary. We are citizens, trained as professional nurses and midwives. We graduated in 2020, completed our rotations, and waited at home for three years before we were finally employed. Yet, almost 10 months on, many of us have not received a single salary,” he lamented.
The Ministry of Health, in July 2024, announced that it had secured financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance to employ 15,000 nurses and midwives. About 13,000 recruits took up postings by December 2024, but payment discrepancies soon emerged.
By April 2025, only 6,500 recruits had been paid, leaving nearly half of the new workforce without salaries to date.
“This is unfair and unsustainable. We are working in hospitals and clinics across the country, saving lives, yet we cannot even afford transport fares to work. How do they expect us to survive?” Takyiah asked.
The coalition has warned that the delay is not only demoralising but also undermines healthcare delivery nationwide, as unpaid staff struggle to remain committed in the face of financial hardship.
“Our patience has run out. We demand immediate action from the government. If this continues, it will cripple health services across the country,” the group stressed in its petition.
The protest adds to growing pressure on the government to address salary arrears in the public sector, particularly within health and education.
The coalition says it is ready to continue its demonstrations if urgent steps are not taken to resolve the impasse.
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