Cost analysis of health workforce investments for Covid-19 response in Ghana

Bibliographic Data

ID21881403
AuthorsJames Avoka Asamani (0000-0003-0620-6010, World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, corresponding author), Hamza Ismaila (0000-0002-6697-5164, Ghana Health Service), Sunny C Okoroafor (0000-0003-4690-485X, World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa), Kingsley Addai Frimpong (0000-0002-0940-7240, Health Financing and Investment, World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Accra, Ghana), Ebenezer Oduro-Mensah (Ga East Hospital, Ghana Health Service, Accra, Ghana), Ebenezer Oduro‐Mensah (0000-0002-8888-3439, Ghana Health Service), Margaret Chebere (Ghana Health Service), Adam Ahmat (0000-0002-3708-264X, World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa), Juliet Nabyonga‐Orem (0000-0002-1061-8678, World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa), Christmal Dela Christmals (0000-0003-1811-0008, North-West University), Jennifer Nyoni (World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa), Patrick Kuma‐Aboagye (Ghana Health Service), Patrick Kuma-Aboagye (Office of Director-General, Ghana Health Service, Accra, Ghana)
Year2022
Volume7
IssueSuppl 1
Pagese008941
Publication date2022-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBMJ Global Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2059-7908 • E-ISSN: 2059-7908
PublisherBMJ (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1136/bmjgh-2022-008941
PMID35589144
OpenAlexW4280499323
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited8

The COVID-19 pandemic had multiple adverse impacts on the health workforce that constrained their capacity to contain and combat the disease. To mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the Ghanaian health workforce, the government implemented a strategy to recruit qualified but unemployed health workers to fill staffing gaps and incentivise all public sector health workers. This paper estimated the cost of the new recruitments and incentives given to health workers and presented lessons for health workforce planning in future health emergencies towards health systems resilience. Between March and November 2020, 45 107 health workers were recruited, representing a 35% boost in the public sector health workforce capacity, and an increase in the recurrent public health sector wage bill by about GHS103 229 420 (US$17 798 176) per month, and about GHS1.24 billion (US$213.58 million) per annum. To incentivise the health workforce, the government announced a waiver of personal income taxes for all health workers in the public sector from April to December 2020 and offered a 50% additional allowance to some health workers. We estimate that the Government of Ghana spent about GH¢16.93 million (equivalent to US$2.92 million) monthly as COVID-19 response incentives, which translates into US$35 million by the end of 2020. Ghana invested considerably in health workforce recruitment and incentives to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in an almost 37% increase in the public sector wage bill. Strengthening investments in decent employment, protection and safety for the health workforce using the various resources are helpful in addressing future pandemics

Business · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Incentive · Public health · Public sector · Workforce · COVID-19 and Mental Health · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · Global Maternal and Child Health · Medicine · Nursing

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