A major student organisation in Ghana is calling for sweeping reforms in the country’s healthcare sector following reports that at least 11 people have died in the ongoing strike by nurses and midwives.
The Private Universities Students’ Association of Ghana (PUSAG) says the three-day industrial action, led by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), exposed critical vulnerabilities in emergency care delivery and left thousands without medical attention.
“We can negotiate for pay, but not for life. When tools go down, hearts must not stop beating,” said PUSAG President, Ibrahim Issah, at a press briefing in Accra.
He acknowledged the legitimacy of the nurses’ demands but said the strike had disproportionately affected poor and vulnerable Ghanaians who rely on public hospitals.
According to reports cited by PUSAG, more than 4,500 outpatient visits were missed within the first 72 hours of the strike.
Maternal and emergency care services were especially hit in the Northern, Bono, and Greater Accra regions.
The student body referenced Ghana’s Labour Act (Act 651), which designates health as an essential service and requires minimum operations during strikes. Mr Issah argued that the GRNMA’s action had breached both legal and ethical standards.
“Turning point”
PUSAG is urging the government and health unions to adopt a more humane and balanced approach to labour disputes in the health sector.
It is proposing a National Essential Services Mediation Desk with a strict 14-day arbitration window to prevent protracted negotiations from endangering lives.
It also called on the Ghanaian Parliament, religious leaders, and civil society actors to help end what it described as the “normalisation of preventable deaths” during strikes.
“The lives lost should not be in vain. This must be the turning point for a more compassionate and balanced approach to essential service delivery in Ghana,” Mr Issah said.
PUSAG represents students from more than 137 private tertiary institutions across Ghana and says it plans to engage Parliament and human rights bodies on possible legal reforms.
