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Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has revealed that the Nursing Trainee allowances are going to be disbursed to student nurses following the approval of the sum of One hundred and seventy-seven million Ghana cedis by the Ministry of Finance.

The vice President, who is the flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party, assured nurses during a meeting with some student nurses in the Bono Region that their allowances will be paid to them after he had checked up with the ministry of finance.

During the meeting with the students, a student nurse had asked the Vice President when the government was going to pay their allowances having not received it for long time.

In his response to the question, Vice President Dr. Bawumia said, “I wasn’t sure of where you were with your 'allawa', but I think that I will check with the Ministry of Finance immediately after I return. And I will make sure they pay you your 'allawa' if it has not been paid,"

However, in a meeting with the nurses and midwives in Accra, Dr. Bawumia stated that the outstanding debt owed to the trainees by government will be paid by the close of Thursday, May 16, 2024. According to the Vice President, the controller general has been instructed to release the said amount to the Ministry of Health to be disbursed to students.

He said, “this Thursday, the Controller is transferring GH¢177 million to the Ministry of Health to pay the nurses trainee allowances adding that, "So I have also alerted Dr Okoe-Boye to be on standby. When the money hits the Ministry of Health account, they should move it quickly to the accounts of the nurses trainees so that they will have their alawa. It will drop.”

The Vice President urged the nurses to have strong belief and faith in his government because it is not the intention of the Bawumia-led government to abolish the payment of nursing trainee allowances.

He took into cognizance, the fact that, there are delays with the payment but added that, regardless of the delay, the government is bent on making the lives of nurses and teachers very comfortable.

While acknowledging the challenges, the leader of the NPP stated that, Nurses and Teachers will continue to benefit from the initiative of the Bawumia-led government. He added that stringent steps were being taken to reduce the backlog of unemployed nurses and midwives, especially batches who completed in 2020 and 2021. 

“As the Vice President, I am dedicated to supporting the work of our nurses and midwives especially with the coming on stream of the agenda 111 state-of-the-art facilities."

Dr Bawumia lauded the high-skilled ability of nurses and midwives which has made them a highly-sought after on the globe.

He said, “they are highly skilled professionals who provide evidence-based care to patients and families, hence their expertise, empathy, and dedication helped enhance health outcomes, lower healthcare expenses, and improve the overall well-being of individuals and communities.”