The Ministry of Health wishes to clarify matters relating to the ongoing recruitment of health professionals across the country.

The Ministry acknowledges the anxiety and interest this recruitment exercise has generated, particularly given the inherited backlog of over 105,000 unemployed health professionals.

The last batches of recruitment across the various professional categories were as follows:

• Nurses – 2020
• Pharmacists – 2019
• Allied Health Professionals – 2019
• Physician Assistants – 2018

The government is unable to recruit all professionals at once.

However, the Ministry remains committed to creating recruitment opportunities for all categories of health professionals, as demonstrated in the current process. Quality healthcare delivery depends on effective teamwork across all professional cadres.

The current financial clearance for health professionals and support staff covers the recruitment of about 8,000 staff across all categories.

The recruitment exercise is heavily guided by the objectives of the Free Primary Healthcare (FPHC) Policy, with emphasis on strengthening preventive, community-based, and primary healthcare delivery, particularly in underserved areas.

In the interest of transparency, regional allocations were based on staffing norms and annual human resource requirements submitted by the GHS, CHAG, AHMADIYYA HEALTH SERVICES, and MENTAL HEALTH AUTHORITY.

The Ministry also engaged key stakeholders through a Recruitment Committee made up of Human Resource Directors from the relevant agencies. Allocations were determined based on staffing needs and gap analyses.

Consequently, regions with greater staffing gaps and healthcare needs received higher allocations.

Cadres considered most critical to achieving the objectives of the FPHC Policy were prioritized as follows:

• Nurses and Midwives (6,500) – greater priority was given to Nurse Assistant Preventive, Community Health Nurses, and Public Health Nurses to support home visits and community-based healthcare delivery.
• Allied Health Professionals (900) – greater priority was given to Laboratory Technicians and Health Information Officers to strengthen service delivery from the CHPS level to the Polyclinic level.
• Pharmacy and Pharmacy Technicians (250) – emphasis was placed on Technicians to strengthen pharmaceutical service delivery from the CHPS level to the Polyclinic level.
• Physician Assistants (300) – Physician Assistants recruited in 2024 but awaiting mechanization onto the payroll were prioritized.

To further enhance transparency and support direct district-level recruitment, the Ministry introduced a new recruitment portal. Feedback on the system has been taken in good faith to improve user experience.

The Ministry acknowledges that more health professionals are needed to expand access to quality healthcare delivery across the country.

The Ministry will continue to engage the Ministry of Finance to secure additional financial clearance for further recruitment.

The recruitment portal will be reopened whenever additional financial clearance is granted.

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