BY Grace Zigah
The crisis over delayed salary payments in the health sector deepened on Thursday, October 2, when thousands of nurses and midwives marched through Accra to demand the release of their salaries, which have been in arrears for nearly ten months.
The protest, organized by the Coalition of Unpaid Nurses and Midwives, began at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park and wound its way through key parts of the capital before converging at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health.
There, leaders of the group presented petitions, appealing directly to President John Dramani Mahama’s administration to resolve what they describe as an “untenable injustice.”
Background of the Salary Crisis
The affected nurses and midwives were officially posted in December 2024 after receiving financial clearance to begin work.
According to the coalition, while about 6,500 of their colleagues received their first salaries in April 2025, thousands more were excluded from the payment roll. For ten months, they have continued to work without any remuneration.
Convener of the coalition, Stephen Kwadwo Takyiah, accused government agencies of negligence, insisting that the delay was crippling healthcare delivery across the country.
“Healthcare professionals cannot continue to save lives when they themselves are struggling to survive,” he stressed.
The effects of the salary arrears have been devastating. Many health workers, the coalition noted, have been forced into debt, hunger, and ill health.
“One of my colleagues had surgery, and we are struggling to raise money for her hospital bills. Another is asthmatic and spends GH¢300 a month on inhalers. Without pay, their survival is at risk,” Takyiah said.
He further accused the government of presiding over what he called “modern-day slave trade,” referencing President Mahama’s recent UN speech condemning slavery.
“To deny citizens their salaries after they have worked is no different. This is the greatest crime any leader can commit,” he declared.
Voices from the Protest
The marchers, dressed in red and black, carried placards highlighting their frustrations.
Government’s Response
They, however presented their petition to the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, who pledged that government would work closely with the Ministry of Finance to ensure all outstanding arrears are cleared.
He assured the protesters that their concerns had not been ignored.
