Unemployed Allied Health Professionals threaten withdrawal from contact tracing exercise

Coalition of Graduate Unemployed Allied Health Professionals is threatening to pull its members out of the COVID-19 tracing teams due to what they described as neglect by the Ministry of Health.

In a press statement signed by the group’s General Secretary, Vincent Amponsah Gyamfi, the group has issued a one-week ultimatum to the government to fulfil the necessary obligations or opt-out of the contact tracing exercise.

“A unanimous decision has been made and members have given the health ministry a one-week ultimatum to address our concerns or we will withdraw from the contact tracing exercise,” the statement read.

The Unemployed Allied Health Professionals also expressed disappointment in the fact that, after heeding to calls by President Nana Akufo-Addo to engage in the contact tracing exercise, they have been left to their own fate.

They, however, find it unfair of not being able to receive their own share of the financial clearance issued by the Finance Ministry as they have given midwives and nurses.

“Our attention has been drawn to a letter with reference number MOH/HR/IT/005 from the Ministry of Health indicating that nurses and midwives have been given financial clearance by the Ministry of Finance, leaving behind Allied Health professionals who headed to the calls of the president and the Ghana Health Service to aid in the contact tracing of the COVID19 patients. We are shocked as this is the first time we are being processed for posting without allied professionals,” they wrote.

Read their full statement below