The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has warned that doctors who refuse postings to rural areas risk being removed from the government payroll by the end of February 2026.

He issued the caution during a working visit to the University of Ghana College of Health Sciences at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.

The Minister urged lecturers and medical trainers to encourage newly qualified doctors to accept postings across the country to help address critical staffing gaps in underserved communities.

“I think we must put our heads together to find a solution to this problem. I agree that there are genuine concerns, but our education is highly subsidised, even for fee-paying students. So if the cocoa-producing farmers in my constituency, Sefwi Antobea, have been used to fund your education and you come and tell me that the place is a village, then I beg to differ,” he said.

He further announced that a validation exercise would be conducted at the end of February.

“By the end of February, we will do validation. If you have not reported, we will take your name out of the payroll,” he warned.

The Minister maintained that deploying doctors to rural areas is critical to ensuring equitable healthcare delivery across the country.