SONA 2026: Pres. Mahama begs health workers to accept postings in underserved areas

Maxwell Nyagamago 12:21 - 27 February 2026

President John Mahama has appealed to health workers to accept postings in underserved areas, emphasising the government’s commitment to strengthening the healthcare sector across the country.

Presenting the State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Friday, 27 February, President Mahama said the government has made significant progress in placing trained health personnel on the public payroll and improving service conditions over the past year.

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He said;

At the beginning of 2025, when we took over, 103,000 trained health workers were still awaiting placement, employment, or enrolment onto the payroll. Over the past year, 13,500 nurses and midwives, along with hundreds of doctors and pharmacists, have been absorbed into the public payroll. Nursing trainee allowances have been regularised and restored,

He added that measures have been introduced to ease access to training and boost morale among health workers.

President Mahama stated;

Application fees have been reduced, and the No-Fee Stress Initiative introduced to ease access to training has been extended. Service conditions are being implemented to boost morale and retention. Looking ahead, government will expand recruitment and take necessary action to add more health workers onto the payroll,

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He further highlighted the government’s plan to address the unequal distribution of health workers across the country:

We will also correct the mal-distribution of health workers through targeted incentives for health workers who agree to serve in underserved areas. Let me use this opportunity to appeal to our gallant health workers to accept postings to our underserved areas, seeing as it is a national call to duty, while we work to ensure that they have an enabling environment to do their work.

His appeal comes after the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, recently expressed concern over the refusal of medical doctors to accept postings to rural areas, noting that only two of the 25 doctors posted to the Oti Region have reported for duty.

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