Report or be fired – Minister threatens new health recruits

Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has issued a firm deadline to newly recruited health professionals posted to health facilities across the country, warning that those who fail to report to their assigned duty stations by Thursday, August 20, 2026, risk losing their appointments.

The Minister said the deadline is necessary to prevent newly created vacancies from remaining unfilled and to allow the government to quickly replace recruits who fail to take up their postings.

Akandoh explained that the Ministry of Health had deliberately secured the required financial clearance before commencing the latest recruitment exercise. According to him, the arrangement was intended to ensure that successful recruits would be paid promptly and would not be subjected to the salary arrears that have affected some health professionals recruited in previous years.

He disclosed that some of the newly recruited personnel who reported early had already begun receiving their salaries, stressing that the government was determined not to create another backlog of unpaid health workers.

The Minister made the remarks on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, during a courtesy call by members of the Coalition of Unpaid Nurses and Midwives.

He said recruits who had not yet reported to their assigned facilities must do so no later than August 20, warning that failure to meet the deadline would mean forfeiting the opportunity.

Akandoh further announced that the Ministry would immediately undertake a “mop-up exercise” after the deadline to fill positions left vacant by recruits who fail to accept their postings.

The directive effectively places newly recruited health professionals on notice that their appointment is dependent on their timely assumption of duty.

The Minister stressed that the government could not afford to keep critical positions vacant while health facilities across the country require additional personnel to deliver services to patients.

The decision also forms part of efforts to ensure that the latest recruitment exercise translates into actual staffing at health facilities rather than leaving personnel vacancies unresolved because some recruits fail to report.