It says since the programme began some three years ago, the health sector has received 65 immigrants in different speciality areas of need to the nation.
As a result, the ministry has mainstreamed the project in its core human resources strategies for health development objective programme of work for the next five years.
Speaking at the launch of the Phase III of MIDA/Ghana Health Project, also known as the Health Sector Brain Gain, the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Gladys Norley Ashitey, pledged the country's support and commitment to sustain and own the programme.
The MIDA/Ghana Health Project, is a Royal Netherlands Embassy funded health sector human resource capacity-building project, which is facilitated through the transfer of knowledge and skills of Ghanaian health professionals in the Netherlands and other European Union countries.
Under the programme, Ghanaian health professionals working in the diaspora come home on short term assignments (from three weeks to three months) while those working permanently in the country also go on internships in hospitals in the Netherlands.
The focus areas of the programme include teaching, public health education, research and feasibility studies, clinical practice and health management and technical support.
According to the minister, the rampant emigration of human resources from the health sector of any nation's economy "can spell out an eminent systemic breakdown and therefore deserves sustainable interventions to reverse the trend".
Dr. Ashitey said Ghana has been a victim of this global health workforce migration that in the past saw a respectable number of doctors, nurses and other allied health workers leaving the shores of the country for greener pastures in Europe and the America.
It is in this vein that she pledged the ministry's full support and "the availing of resources towards exhibiting ownership of this demand driven initiative".
She said the ministry has instituted measures to address the trend of health workforce emigration "popularly known as brain drain through health sector salary rationalisation, establishment of Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons for continuous medical training and provision of incentives to health workers in the country".
The IOM Chief of Mission in Ghana, Davide Terzi, also commended the government for improving the salary of health workers in the country and also establishing the College of Physicians and Surgeons, which according to him, have helped to attract more Ghanaian health workers in the Diaspora to return home.
He said such development will not only help to retain professionals home but also encourage those outside to return home.
He said since the collaboration started in 2005, more than 8,200 students, doctors, health and medical students have directly benefitted from it..
In all, the Netherland government will be spending €1.5million (Euros) on the programme for the next four years as part of its sponsorship package.
The First Secretary for Health and Gender at the Royal Netherlands Embassy, Dr. Marius de Jong, explained that the project is not limited to the health sector alone but to other sectors as well.
He said the project is to provide Ghanaians outside the country particularly in the Europe an opportunity to contribute to development back home.
According to him, apart from focusing on people, the project will also assist training institutes to expand their infrastructure.
| By Kwadwo B. Donkor | |
|
Friday, 06 June 2008
Source: The Ghanaian Times |
