Barbados is set to receive 200 more Ghanaian nurses, who will complement the staffing needs of the island country.

The Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Motley, disclosed this during Ghana’s 65th Independence Day celebration held at the Cape Coast Stadium in the Central Region.

Ms. Mottley in her address expressed her appreciation to the government for extending help to her country’s health sector.

“I stand here on your Independence Day to thank the people of Ghana for being able to support us in our need for nurses, with the first 95 nurses having gone to Barbados in July 2020.”

“We thank you the government of the people of Ghana for that most generous gesture, and we are heartened that they have made a huge difference to our public healthcare system, so much so that we have completed an interview for another 200 nurses to come to Barbados in the near future,” Ms. Mottley said.

Ghana and Barbados have signed an agreement for the recruitment of nurses from Ghana.

The agreement, which was signed on Friday, 15th November 2019, at Jubilee House, when Mia Mottley, paid a courtesy call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, as part of her official visit to Ghana saw the initial recruitment of over 100 Ghanaian nurses.

There had been concerns over the move, as some had suggested that the nurses could have rather been absorbed in Ghana’s Health Service.

However, the then Deputy Health Minister, Alexander Abban said it would be better to send those nurses abroad, given the salary challenges with Ghana’s Health Service.