The Youth Employment Agency (YEA) has urged the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwifery Association (GRNMA) to eschew any fear of displacement, competition, or adulteration over plans to recruit Community Health Workers (CHWs).

According to YEA, GRNMA is of a higher professional level and has a totally different focus from that of the CHWs.

YEA’s message comes on the back of an outcry from the association following the announcement to recruit some 3,000 persons into the health sector.

YEA had explained the recruitment forms part of efforts to augment the fight against Covid-19 in Ghana as well as provide quality health care delivery services, especially to rural communities.

A development YEA says has set confusion among members of GRNMA.

A statement, signed by the Director of Public Affairs, Kwasi Afriyie, noted that the CHWs were not nurses but provide health education and referrals for a wide of services.

Admitting it was not the mandate of the Authority to recruit professional nurses, the statement added the initiative was necessary to augment the health sector.

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The statement stressed the recruitment is under the CHW programme which ran from 2016 to 2018 and was approved by parliament as captured by the Agency’s Act, 2015 (Act 887).

Meanwhile, YEA has assured as part of the operational arrangements, GRMNA will actually be engaged prior to the rollout of the CHW programme to ensure smooth collegial working arrangements.

Read the full statement below:

Press Release – Chw by Dennis Adu on Scribd