The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) is calling on the government to allocate five percent of oil revenue to the health sector.
The association believes this investment is essential for addressing gaps in healthcare, including disease management, personnel retention, and infrastructure improvement.
President of the GRNMA, Dr. David Tenkorang Twum, emphasized the urgency of this funding, warning that the current lack of attention and resources has already had a devastating impact on the sector.
“We have to take very calculated and bold decisions in providing financing to the health sector. We are proposing that at least between two to five percent of our oil revenue should be directed towards health,” he stated on Joy News.
Dr. Twum also advocated for the maintenance of nursing training allowances, highlighting that a recent study revealed student nurses handle 40% of nurses’ workload in hospitals, and their allowances serve as compensation for their significant contributions.
“It is not just money dashed out to student nurses. A study in 2014 found that 40% of nursing services in our health facilities are performed by student nurses. So it is a form of compensation for what they do,” he added.
In addition, Dr. Kwame Sarpong Asiedu, a fellow at the Center for Democratic Development, demanded that the government commit to the Abuja Declaration, which requires governments to invest 15% of their revenue in health.
“We need to, at a minimum, be doing the Abuja Declaration. We signed it, Look, you know the irony of our politics. The Abuja Declaration was signed in 2001 by President Kufuor. The worst government that has disabused our approach to the Abuja Declaration has been Nana Akufo- Addo’s government since 2017. How does that make sense? The people who committed us to the Declaration are the worst defaulters”, he said.
Read Also: Domelovo Slams NPP for Corruption and Unfinished Projects
Source: Comfort Sweety Hayford/ATLFMNEWS
