Deputy Health Minister tells nurses and midwives to put research to work in communities

Pinned summary · as of 06:13

Prof. Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah, a Deputy Minister of Health, has challenged nursing and midwifery leaders to make their research useful at the grassroots. She spoke at the launch of a five-day conference for nursing and midwifery leaders and managers, the seventh yearly edition, in 2026.

What we know

• The Deputy Minister addressed the start of the seventh annual gathering of nursing and midwifery leaders and managers, a five-day event whose theme ties research, policy and practice to the Free Primary Healthcare programme.
• Prof. Ayensu-Danquah urged the leaders to convert research results into workable solutions for care delivery in communities, and said what clinicians learn on the frontline should shape national health policy.
• She said nurses and midwives are placed to catch conditions early, offer preventive care and refer patients quickly, because they work close to the communities they serve.
• The Deputy Minister argued that a stronger primary care system at community level would ease pressure on specialised and tertiary hospitals.
• Awards were part of the conference, spread over five categories including Clinical Excellence, Regulation, Leadership and Governance and Education and Research, plus a Minister for Health's award for work in underserved areas.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  The Vaultz News reported that the Deputy Minister later went to Abesim in the Bono Region, calling at the health centre and at the divisional council, where she said preventing maternal deaths needs cooperation between health institutions, traditional leaders and communities. The report says the centre has one doctor and wants at least two more; no other report carries these details.
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  Opemsuo 104.7 reported that she toured a herbal medicine manufacturer in the Central Region to check its compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices, and said government wants to bring validated traditional medicine into mainstream care. This has not been reported elsewhere.

Why it matters for Ghana

Free Primary Healthcare is meant to bring services closer to households, and nurses and midwives are often the first health workers people meet in their districts. If frontline findings feed into policy, clinics outside Accra and Kumasi could get more attention, and crowded teaching hospitals could see fewer patients who might have been treated closer to home.