Two newly posted medical doctors who reported to the Upper East Region have left the region to seek reposting to the Northern Region after their request to work at the regional hospital was not granted.
The Upper East Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Braimah Baba Abubakari, disclosed this during a briefing when the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, visited the regional hospital in Bolgatanga as part of his working tour of the region.
According to Dr. Abubakari, the region had expected an improvement in its medical workforce after 27 doctors were posted there this year. However, only 5 agreed to stay in the region.
“Out of the 27 doctors posted to the Upper East Region, only seven showed up. Two of them said that if they were not posted to the regional hospital, they would go back, and indeed they have gone and found themselves in the Northern Region,” he explained.
The development, he noted, highlights the persistent challenge of attracting and retaining doctors in the region, particularly in districts outside the regional capital.
Dr. Abubakari provided an overview of the health situation in the region, noting that the Upper East Region, one of Ghana’s 16 administrative regions, has a population of more than 1.42 million people across 15 districts.
He said the region currently has eight public hospitals — seven under the Ghana Health Service and one under the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) located in Bawku — in addition to 17 private hospitals and 45 private clinics.
The region also has 79 health centres and 529 functional Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) zones, although only 262 of them have compounds, leaving a significant infrastructure gap.
Despite these facilities, the region continues to face a shortage and uneven distribution of doctors. Dr. Abubakari said the region currently has a total of 105 doctors serving the population, with more than half — 59 doctors — stationed at the regional hospital in Bolgatanga, including four of the newly posted doctors.
The remaining doctors are spread across the other districts, many of which continue to struggle with inadequate staffing. According to him, the doctor-to-population ratio in the region has improved to about one doctor to 14,000 people in 2025, compared to one doctor to about 17,000 people recorded the previous year.
He also highlighted several operational challenges affecting healthcare delivery in the region, including inadequate critical staff, lack of accommodation for health workers, limited transport, and shortages of essential equipment in many facilities.
Dr. Abubakari further pointed out that ongoing chieftaincy conflicts in parts of the region, particularly within the Bawku enclave, continue to affect service delivery in some districts.
He said health workers in some conflict-affected areas have continued to provide services under difficult and sometimes dangerous conditions, noting that some staff have had to work while gunshots were being heard in their communities.
The regional health director also outlined several priorities for improving healthcare delivery in the region, including the recruitment of more critical health professionals and support staff, provision of vehicles for health facilities, financial clearance for physician assistants, and the implementation of incentives for staff working in deprived and conflict-prone areas.
Additionally, he appealed for support to strengthen residency training at the regional hospital and to improve infrastructure and services across the region’s health facilities.
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