Health Students Association Appeals to Government to Settle Allowances

The President of the National Health Students Association of Ghana (NAHSAG), Faustina Aikins, has urged the government to do the needful in paying them their allowances as promised.

The NAHSAG is an umbrella body for all health institutions and fresh graduates in Ghana.

According to her, most nurses in the country voted for the Akufo Addo-led administration because of its promise to reinstate their allowances to help them fend for themselves during school.

“Former President John Dramani Mahama, during his tenure in office, abrogated the nursing training allowance, but Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the current president, promised to restore it back in the hit of the 2016 general elections should he be voted for; these nurses listened to him and voted massively for this new NPP administration led by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,” she lamented.

Ms. Aikins revealed that for the past nine months, most of them have not been paid their allowances and pleaded with the government to heed their call, adding that studying and working at the same time is tedious for them without the allowances. She went on to say that nurses are still working because they care about the people who they have been trained to cater for.

She noted that the association had approached the appropriate quarters for payment but to no avail.

She said nurses are still at post because of the love they have for the people they were trained to care for.

While commending the government for rolling out the “Agenda 111” initiative, it appealed to the government to speed up the process.

Ms. Aikins also pleaded with the Pharmacy Council to assist pharmacy technologists who had completed school since 2020 with the necessary examinations so that they could obtain their PINs and work.

She threatened that if all the demands of the group are not met, they will lay down their tools and go on a peaceful demonstration.

She made the announcement at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday.