Ghana has been included in a list of 54 countries that should not be actively targeted for recruitment by health and social care employers.
This announcement was made by the UK government in its revised code of practice for international recruitment of health and social care personnel published on the NHS Employers website.
The Code of Practice for International Recruitment states that some developing countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Cote d’Ivoire should not be targeted when actively recruiting health or social care professionals.
A release on the NHS website stated that the countries listed have a UHC Service Coverage Index that is lower than 50 and a density of doctors, nurses, and midwives that is below the global median (48.6 per 10,000 population).
However, 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).
The countries placed on the red list of ‘No active recruitment’ under the code 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.
The rest 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.
