During a dedicated outreach session with the Ghanaian diaspora community in St. John’s held on the sidelines of this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) on Wednesday, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama shared that Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne had personally lauded the exceptional contributions Ghanaian nurses have made to the twin-island nation’s public healthcare ecosystem. Mahama framed Ghanaian nurses and other skilled professionals deployed across the Caribbean as unofficial, highly effective cultural and economic ambassadors for their home country, noting that glowing, on-the-ground testimonials about their work ethic and technical proficiency have prompted a growing number of Caribbean governments to formally recruit skilled talent directly from Ghana. He clarified that these recruitment requests no longer remain limited to the healthcare and education sectors, but now span high-demand technical fields including civil engineering, large-scale construction, and a range of other specialized professional disciplines. Addressing the Ghanaian nurses in attendance directly, the president urged them to uphold the core values of compassion and patience in their daily practice, emphasizing that patients accessing care are often in deeply vulnerable states that require emotional support and encouragement in addition to clinical treatment. He also encouraged the cohort to share their international work experiences with peers back in Ghana to foster cross-learning and professional development across the country’s domestic workforce. Speaking at the same community gathering, Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa outlined the administration’s ongoing efforts to formalize additional bilateral labour mobility agreements that will create structured pathways for trained health workers and certified educators to secure formal employment across Caribbean member states. Ablakwa confirmed that Ghana has already finalized and signed formal labour pacts with Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Saint Lucia, with active negotiations ongoing to expand the network of partner nations in the region. He also revealed that the Prime Minister of the Bahamas has submitted an official formal request for 300 qualified Ghanaian teachers, a move he attributed directly to the unmatched track record of professionalism and excellence that Ghanaian skilled workers have built across the Caribbean in recent years.
Ghanaian nurses in Antigua and Barbuda earn praise from President Mahama
