Ghana has deployed 47 health professionals to St. Kitts and Nevis under the Ghana Labour Exchange Programme [GLEP], with government describing the move as “the beginning of a new dawn” for structured labour mobility.

The departure ceremony was addressed by Deputy Chief of Staff, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama and Chief of Staff, Hon. Julius Debrah.

“On behalf of my principal… and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Ghana, HE John Dramani Mahama, I wish each and every one of you safe travels, good health, and every success,” she said.

The batch comprises 15 Community Health Nurses and 32 General Nurses. It is the second group to leave since the current government assumed office.

“Under President John Dramani Mahama, history is being made today,” Nana Oye Bampoe Addo stated. “Through GLEP, we structured, ethical, and coordinated labour mobility. It is managed by government, protected by policy, and anchored in mutual benefit for Ghana and our partner country.”

The Deputy Chief of Staff said GLEP was designed to tackle a long-standing challenge: over 105,000 trained and qualified health professionals in Ghana remain unemployed.

“Without a structured programme like this, many of those professionals would leave anyway on their own terms, without protection, without contracts, and without return,” she explained. 

“GLEP changes that. It creates legal, dignified, and beneficial pathways for our health workers to serve abroad while Ghana retains the relationship, the knowledge, and the benefits that come from their service.”

She linked the programme to the Accra Reset initiative championed by President Mahama and former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. The initiative positions health as a key entry point for global cooperation, with sovereignty at the centre of North-South relations.

“What you are doing today is a living expression of that model in action,” she told the departing nurses.

“Make Ghana Proud” 

Nana Oye Bampoe Addo charged the nurses to be good ambassadors.

“You are Ghanaians first. As you go, you carry Ghana with you. Make us proud. You are going the legal and structured way, and you must stay legal. Obey the laws of St. Kitts and Nevis. Uphold the highest standards of professionalism and ethics,” she said. 

She also stressed that the nurses must return: “We are not sending you away permanently. We are sending you out to grow, so that Ghana grows with you.”

Ghana, she added, expects the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis to provide the necessary support and conditions for the professionals to succeed. 

“We assure the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis of Ghana’s full support, cooperation, and commitment to a deepening bilateral relationship,” she concluded.

“Go well, serve well, and come back with stories of excellence that make your families, your profession, and your country proud. This is the beginning of a new dawn. God bless our homeland Ghana.”