We live in a country where essential health workers, nurses, are on strike. Not because they want more than they deserve, but because they are asking for what is rightfully theirs. Better conditions. Fair pay. Respect.
Instead of resolving the matter, the government’s response has been shallow and almost insulting. Their answer? Recall retired nurses, as if that solves anything.
This is not just lazy governance. It is reckless indifference.
This is no longer a labour dispute. It is a public health crisis unfolding slowly. Hospitals are empty. Wards are closed. Patients are left waiting. The message being sent is clear: “We don’t need you.” But that message is false. The truth is, we all need them.
You cannot build a functioning health system on the backs of tired, unpaid, and unappreciated workers. You cannot solve a strike with gimmicks. You cannot replace justice with shortcuts.
Leadership means showing up. It means listening. It means taking responsibility.
Is this how we thank the nurses who stayed during the darkest days of the pandemic? Is this how we reward the ones who didn’t flee when others sought better opportunities abroad?
Ghana is already bleeding skilled health professionals. This strike, and how the government is mishandling it, is making things worse. The collapse of the system is no longer a possibility. It is already happening.
If recalling retirees is the best idea they have, then it means they had no plan to begin with.
Let’s be honest. This is not a solution. It is an announcement of failure.
These retirees served their time. They deserve rest, not recall. They did their part. Forcing them back is not only disrespectful, it is dangerous. It is a betrayal of their years of hard work.
And the nurses on strike? They are not asking for handouts. They want fairness. Many have worked under terrible conditions. Most have gone months without pay. They have covered shifts, worked with limited tools, and received little to no recognition. And now, they are being told they are replaceable.
This is not leadership. It is neglect disguised as improvisation.
The damage is already clear. Lives are at risk. Critical care is delayed. Some patients are dying quietly. And behind the silence, more young health workers are giving up hope that they have any future here.
We read the stories. Nurses and doctors are leaving. Not because they want to, but because the system pushes them out. They go where their work matters. Where salaries come on time. Where their basic tools are available. Where they are seen as professionals, not as burdens.
What will be left for us?
We cannot keep pretending this is normal. This is not how a serious country treats its health workers. This is not how a responsible nation handles a crisis.
Let’s face the facts:
1. Nurses are striking because they have been pushed too far.
2. The government’s response has been weak and out of touch.
3. Recalling retirees is not a solution. It is proof of failure.
4. A health system without nurses is not a system. It is an empty building.
5. Each day this strike continues, the country loses trust and talent.
It’s time to face the truth. The solution lies in real negotiation. In doing what was promised. In treating nurses with the dignity they deserve. In acting, not delaying.
This is not a political issue. It is a national emergency.
Fix it, or watch it all fall apart.
By Victor Raul Puobabangna Plance, Eggu, Upper West Region
#Puobabangna
