The government is recruiting 16,000 health professionals to support the implementation of the Free Primary Healthcare (FPHC) programme, Minister of Health Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has announced.

He said 8,000 health professionals had so far been recruited and posted to health facilities across the country, with plans advanced to recruit an additional 8,000.

Mr Akandoh made the announcement at Fian in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District on Saturday, September 12, during a durbar on the FPHC programme, which culminated in the presentation of home-visit kits and motorbikes for the programme.

He expressed satisfaction that health professionals were accepting postings to “deprived” areas, including the Upper West Region.

“This year, by the grace of God, we have several health professionals who have accepted posting to this part of the country.

Last year, by the grace of God, about 20 medical doctors accepted posting to this region (Upper West region); in 2024, we had only two”, the Minister explained.

He attributed the increase to the government’s directive that health professionals who report for duty should be processed, mechanised and paid within their first month.

Mr Akandoh also said about 13,500 nurses inherited by the President John Dramani Mahama-led government had been placed on the payroll and their salary arrears cleared.

He said the interventions were aimed at ensuring that healthcare services were available, accessible and affordable to all citizens.

The Minister said the FPHC programme would also prioritise the prevention and early detection of non-communicable diseases, including hypertension and diabetes.

He disclosed that 24,000 pieces of basic medical equipment had been distributed to primary healthcare facilities across the country to support the programme, with an additional 12,000 pieces expected in the coming week.

He added that 5,000 health kits containing basic equipment for house-to-house visits had been distributed, with another 5,000 expected to be delivered in the coming week.

Mr Akandoh urged health professionals to provide quality care, stressing that although the services were free to patients, the government was paying for them.

“The services are free to the ordinary Ghanaian, but the services are not free to the government. So, government is paying for the services you are rendering”, he said.

President John Dramani Mahama said the government was working to improve the conditions of service for health workers, including providing incentives for those who accept postings to underserved areas.

He said health workers posted to such areas would receive an additional 20 per cent of their basic salary as an incentive once the necessary processes were completed.

“We are also improving the conditions in every district, improving the roads, providing water, electricity, and everything so that it makes your lives easier in your facilities”, he explained.

The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Samuel Akoriyea, said the FPHC programme was yielding the expected results.

He said more than 54,000 households had been assessed during the first week of implementation, with health workers conducting more than 12,016 home visits.

The exercise had also resulted in more than 200 first antenatal visits, more than 500 follow-up visits, 1,317 immunisations and growth monitoring sessions, and the identification of 675 new cases of non-communicable diseases.

In the Upper West Region, Dr Akoriyea said 5,749 households had so far been registered and more than 590 home visits conducted since the programme began on September 7, 2026.