Barbados calls for 375 Ghanaian nurses: President accepts principle

General News of Monday, June 17, 2019

Source: Graphic.com.gh

2019-06-17

The president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has agreed in principle to send about 375 Ghanaian nurses to Barbados to work in the medical facilities of this country.

Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, sought the services of Ghana's nurses in her bilateral talks with President Akufo-Addo in Bridgetown, Barbados, last Friday during his working visit to the country.

Addressing a press conference after the bilateral talks, the Barbadian Prime Minister said: "We have indicated that we are looking for just under 400 nurses, so it is not a small number and we are convinced that it is an opportunity – operation between our two countries. "

Barbados, which has a population of nearly 300,000, faces a serious shortage of nurses and other health workers.

Ms. Mottley indicated that the application was initially accepted and that joint educational programs were being put in place in the future, with the goal of securing the health sector in Barbados.

The President replies

For his part, President Akufo-Addo said: "We have a surplus of nurses in Ghana and placing them all in our public health system is one of my headaches."

He said that many nurses had been produced and that for several years the government had not been able to use their services effectively.

"I will be back in Accra on Monday and the week after the Prime Minister will hear from me about this issue of nurses," the president added.

With President Akufo-Addo being the first Ghanaian leader to visit Barbados, the two leaders agreed to reactivate a cultural, technical and scientific agreement signed in 2005 between the two countries, which has been dormant for 14 years.

Discussions also focused on tourism and transport and the two countries agreed to work on an air services agreement whereby direct air links would be established between the two countries to stimulate trade and contacts between the two countries. peoples.

Energy

On renewable energies, President Akufo-Addo expressed the wish of Ghana to work with Barbados, a country that had made great progress in this area, and reaffirmed its commitment to bring the renewable energy element of its energy production at least 10%.

To demonstrate the close ties between Ghana and Barbados, President Akufo-Addo expressed his commitment to the establishment of an honorary consulate in Barbados, with Barbados having to establish a high commission in Accra. 39, here at the end of 2019.

Return year

After attending the International Labor Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, President Akufo-Addo began a Caribbean tour in six countries.

He visited Guyana, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica, where he held bilateral talks with the respective Presidents and Prime Ministers. .

During his visits, President Akufo-Addo promoted the Year of Return in the Caribbean.

The year of the return, which is to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade, began last year with a launch in Washington, DC, United States of America.

Activities planned for this year-long celebration include a homecoming, investment summits, the African-American Investment Forum and the celebration of Pan-African Day and Emancipation.

The commemoration should consolidate and strengthen ties with Africans in the diaspora and extend the protocol of free movement to all those who would like to come and see or stay in Ghana.