GCNM Marks 10th AGM And 5th Scientific Conference, Calls For Investment In Specialist Training

The Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives (GCNM) has held its 10th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and 5th Scientific Conference at the Pentecost Convention Centre, with a call for increased investment, collaboration, and innovation to strengthen specialist nursing and midwifery practice across the country.

This year’s conference was held under the theme “Enhancing Specialist Nursing and Midwifery Practice: A Call for Investment, Collaboration and Innovation.”

The President of the College, Professor Mrs Victoria B. Bam, urged the government to explore international collaborations to help address the rising number of unemployed nurses in Ghana.

She said the country produces thousands of qualified nurses and midwives each year, many of whom struggle to find work locally despite global demand for healthcare professionals.

“Ghana continues to produce a large number of qualified nurses and midwives, many of whom remain unemployed due to limited local opportunities,” she said.

“By working with other countries that are in need of healthcare professionals, Ghana can export its skilled workforce while also helping to improve global healthcare delivery.”

Prof. Bam said that such arrangements must be structured to protect the welfare of Ghanaian professionals.

“These partnerships should be ethical and well-regulated to ensure our professionals receive fair treatment and proper contracts abroad,” she added.

She also highlighted the College’s achievements over the past year, including the induction of hundreds of new members who have completed specialist residency programmes.

Prof. Bam noted that the College had organised three successful pre-conference webinars on Academic Writing, Clinical Leadership and Governance, and Systematic Reviews in Health Research, to strengthen the research capacity of its members.

She said GCNM is also working closely with nursing and midwifery schools in public universities to “enhance knowledge transfer and create more opportunities for further studies.”

Celebrating the achievements of members, Prof. Bam said several nurses and midwives trained by the College have received recognition both locally and internationally.

“Members of the GCNM are making significant impact in their various fields,” she said. “From the last AGM to now, some have received Global Awards, National Excellence Awards and the Nursing and Midwifery Leaders and Managers’ Excellence Awards. We are proud of their contributions to achieving national and global health goals.”

Delivering the keynote address, Professor Adelaide Maria Ansah Ofei of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Ghana, praised the College for a decade of “excellence, specialization and leadership” but urged greater commitment to investing in the nursing and midwifery workforce.

“Today is a celebration but also a call to action,” she said. “The health and well-being of millions depend on how boldly we invest in, collaborate with, and innovate within our specialist workforce.”

Prof. Ofei highlighted the challenges facing Ghana’s healthcare system, including the uneven distribution of nurses, poor working conditions, and the growing rate of migration.

“Our numbers are still too few, our distribution unequal, and our working conditions under-resourced,” she noted.

“How can we talk about Universal Health Coverage when the specialists who hold the system together are stretched thin or migrating abroad?”

She urged government and partners to prioritise three pillars investment, collaboration and innovation to strengthen specialist practice.

“Investment in specialist nursing and midwifery is not an expenseit is a multiplier of health gains,” she said. “When we invest in training, continuous professional development, and decent work conditions, we retain our best minds and improve patient outcomes.”

The Rector of GCNM, Dr Mrs Gloria Achempim-Ansong, in her report, said the College has made significant progress in specialist training since its establishment in 2013.

“The Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives is mandated to provide specialist and postgraduate education in nursing and midwifery, continuous professional education and contribute to policy formulation for improved healthcare outcomes,” she explained.

She said the College currently offers seven associate memberships, 22 memberships, and nine fellowship programmes across Nursing, Midwifery, Mental Health, and Public Health divisions.

Dr Achempim-Ansong added that enrolment figures continue to rise.

“In the 2024/2025 academic year, 580 nurses and midwives were enrolled, up from 386 the previous year. For 2025/2026, a total of 833 have been admitted into associate and membership programmes,” she revealed.

The College operates in three zones: Southern, Middle, and Northern with offices in Accra, Kumasi, and Tamale, and collaborates with over 62 accredited training centres across the country.

Despite these successes, Dr Achempim-Ansong noted that limited funding remains one of the biggest challenges facing the College.

“Specialist education is expensive, and many of our residents struggle to afford it,” she said. “We therefore advocate for better funding, increased study leave with pay, and deliberate policies to encourage specialization.”

She also appealed for government support in developing a permanent campus for the College.

“At the moment, we are operating from a facility provided by the Ministry of Health,” she said. “We call on the Honourable Minister to lead efforts toward building our permanent office complex on our two-acre land at the University of Ghana.”

GCNM continues to benefit from several partnerships, including The Hospital for SickKids in Canada under the IGNIT3 project, aimed at improving adolescent health and nutrition, and another with World Child Cancer, which supports paediatric oncology training.

Chairman of GCNM and Member of Parliament for Garu, Dr Thomas Winsum Anabah, commended the College for its contribution to improving healthcare in Ghana and encouraged newly inducted members to serve with compassion and remain in the country to help strengthen the health system.

Speaking to the media after the ceremony, he said the induction of over 353 new members was a clear sign of progress in developing Ghana’s health workforce.

“It’s good news to be here today for this special event, on the occasion where over 353 people have graduated and have been inducted into the College,” he said. “This shows that the quality of human capital in the nursing profession is going to improve.”

Dr Anabah emphasised the growing importance of specialist nurses in the modern health system.

“We are moving away from infectious diseases to chronic, non-communicable diseases that require specialist care,” he explained. “It takes specialised nurses from cancer to orthopaedic to psychiatric and paediatric care to provide efficient and effective treatment.”

He praised the College’s faculty for their commitment to training specialists and advised graduates to serve with empathy.

“My advice to them is that they should go and put into practice what we call compassion in taking care of their patients,” he said. “It could be any of us who need their care, so I appeal to them to work with compassion first, and everything else will follow.”

Dr Anabah also appealed to the graduates to resist the temptation to seek greener pastures abroad.

“They should love Ghana and stay in Ghana. Here is where we trained you to help us. Please do not seek greener pastures. Let’s stay in Ghana and save Ghanaians so that the quality of care will continue to improve.”