Assistant Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwifery Association (GRNM), Philemon Gyapon has reacted to news of the government planning on halting Ghanaian Nurses from traveling outside the country, saying it is their right and should not be infringed upon.
He made this reaction and statement on the back of the Health Minister’s statement during a press briefing on September 6, 2023.
In a phone interview with Kafui Dey on the GTV’s Breakfast Show on September 7, 2023, MGyapon mentioned that ”it is the right of every Ghanaian to travel outside if they so wish and Nurses are not exempted from this right”.
According to him, the index of nurses traveling out of the country keeps rising due to ”poor working conditions, lack of proper structures to secure a better working atmosphere for nurses and also low remuneration as compared to the countries they are traveling to”.
He further called on the government to address the challenges facing nurses and health workers in Ghana, so as to reduce the ”brain drain”, or their exit from Ghana.
“Whatever approach the Ministry wants to take to halt the exodus (migration) will not work if they do not do a proper consultation”, Gyapon added.