The United Kingdom (UK) has added Ghana to a list of 54 countries that should not be actively targeted for recruitment by health and social care employers.
This was revealed in the UK government’s revised code of practice for international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England, published on the National Health Service (NHS) Employers website.
The code states that countries like Ghana should not be targeted when actively recruiting health or care professionals.
Listed under the “Code of Practice red and amber list of countries”, the UK government said these countries are part of the World Health Organisation Workforce Support and Safeguard List, 2023, and will be updated every three years.
“Countries on the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List are graded red, which means no active recruitment is permitted from these countries,” the code said.
This applies to the appointment of all international health and social care personnel in the UK, including all permanent, temporary, and locum staff in clinical and non-clinical settings.
The countries placed on the red List of ‘No active recruitment’ are Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia.
Others are Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Federated States of Micronesia, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Republic of Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The countries listed have a UHC Service Coverage Index lower than 50 and a density of doctors, nurses and midwives below the global median (48.6 per 10,000 population).
The code, however, stated that being on the List doesn’t prevent individual health and social care personnel from independently applying to health and social care employers for employment in the UK, of their own accord and without being targeted by a third party, such as a recruitment agency or employer (known as a direct application).