The National Council of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) is set to protest against the recent hike in verification fees for nurses.

Parliament announced a significant increase in the cost of foreign verification from GH¢550 to a substantial GH¢3,000, representing a staggering 445.45% rise.

Efforts urging the Health Ministry and the Nurses and Midwives Council to reconsider the fees have been unsuccessful.

Therefore, the leadership of the nurses has outlined a series of actions to voice their objection to the new fees. These actions will be implemented from March 22 to April 3, 2024.

Starting from March 22 to 27, departments and wards where nurses and midwives operate throughout the nation will be adorned with red bands, as symbols of protest.

A press conference is scheduled for March 27, 2024, alongside the consequential suspension of outpatient department services from March 28 to April 2, 2024.

“These actions have become necessary because, although the GRNMA officially communicated its discontentment about the 445.5% increment in the Verification Fee and requested for review of the amount of an acceptable level more than a week ago, the institutions involved which are the Parliament of Ghana, the Ministry of Health and the Nursing and Midwifery Council are yet to even acknowledge receipt of our letters and to make any effort towards having the GH¢3,000.00 reviewed,” a statement signed by its National President, Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo indicated.

“All nurses and midwives are expected to fully participate in the above-stated actions because it is their right to do so and therefore under no circumstance should they be threatened or coerced,” it said.

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