The Ghana Medical Association has called on the government to expedite its engagements with the leadership of the Junior Doctors’ Association of Ghana to avert the intended strike.

The Junior Doctors’ Association of Ghana, in a statement, announced a nationwide withdrawal of services beginning Tuesday, October 7, 2025, in protest against months of salary delays, stalled postings, and what it describes as persistent unfair treatment of its members.

The Ghana Medical Association cautions that any industrial action by the Junior Doctors will take a toll on healthcare delivery across the country, and the government must quickly step in to avert such action.

Although the Ghana Medical Association said it has made interventions to prevent such a situation, the concerns of the Junior Doctors have still not been addressed.

In an interview with Citi News on October 3, the President of the Ghana Medical Association, Dr Frank Serebour, urged the government to address the concerns of the Junior Doctors.

“For you to work for close to 10 months, 11 months, 12 months without salary, it’s something that nobody can defend, because we were able to work to reduce the number of months that we have to work before they receive a salary to three months. So, what happened that now we are gradually going back to this nine-month, eight-month business? So, clearly, as the Ghana Medical Association, we have actually been trying very hard to control the situation.

He added, “We’ve had several meetings to ensure that these doctors stay calm and continue giving their services. However, the assurances that we gave them and we told them that we are going to push, at a point, we realised that we can’t promise any longer.

“So we just have to allow them to also express their disgust or anger in a way that they feel would inure to their best interest. And certainly, they have issued a statement indicating that they will begin a series of actions starting from Tuesday, and that is on the 7th of October 2025.”

Dr. Serebour also revealed that about 800 doctors remain unposted.

He called for swift action to address this issue to prevent the brain drain currently being experienced in the health sector.

“We still have about 800 doctors who are also at home who need to be posted. Because if we don’t post them, this is the avenue we create, and then people begin to look for other areas to go. And before you say Jack, not all of them are even in the country because they would have found places to go.

He stressed, “And so, if we are not careful before we want to employ them, we won’t find them. So I think it’s also a call for these doctors to be posted and then, of course, their salaries to be processed on time.

“Because once you finish school and you start work, everybody knows that you are supposed to be paid a salary. So I believe we will be able to resolve this matter amicably without the nuances of the strike action kicking off.”