By Diana Adjei
The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has received a delegation from the World Health Organization (WHO), led by its Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, ahead of the upcoming African Health Workforce Investment Forum scheduled to take place in Accra.
The visit was to discuss preparations towards the high-level forum and strengthen collaboration on health workforce development across the continent.
Welcoming the delegation, Mr. Akandoh described the visit as timely and expressed Ghana’s readiness to host the forum. He noted that discussions at the event must go beyond dialogue and result in practical actions that will bring meaningful benefits to citizens.
The Minister highlighted ongoing reforms within Ghana’s health sector, including the implementation of the Free Primary Healthcare Initiative, expansion of health infrastructure, as well as efforts to recruit and retain health professionals across the country.
Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi commended Ghana for its leadership in advancing health sector reforms and acknowledged the country’s efforts in strengthening healthcare delivery.
He stressed the growing importance of health workers as critical national assets and raised concerns about the migration of African-trained health professionals to other countries.
Dr. Janabi called for structured and mutually beneficial arrangements between countries that train health professionals and those that benefit from their services.
He also proposed stronger partnerships, including investment support from destination countries, to help sustain training programmes and improve staff retention in Africa.
The meeting further highlighted Ghana’s role as a leader in the region, with several African countries drawing lessons from its health workforce planning strategies and the National Health Insurance Scheme.
