ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) — The Antigua and Barbuda Government has again defended the decision to recruit health workers from Ghana, saying that it is an attempt to deal with a serious problem within the health sector.

“As you can appreciate, if you have nurses who are overworked or burnt out, then this compromises patient care. We now have an opportunity to fix this issue and I want to thank the permanent secretary and the technical team for the valuable input they gave to this exercise,” said Health Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph.

Sir Molwyn, flanked by top officials of the ministry, told a news conference that Antigua and Barbuda has always had a challenge with providing the adequate number of nurses to man the country’s health care system.

He said the situation has led to public comments indicating that nurses are overworked, burnt out and who face other challenges and that the decision to recruit nurses from Ghana is an attempt to address this serious problem.

Last week, the Gaston Browne Government said it had agreed to contract over 100 nurses from Ghana, but insisted that it has not formally ended the programme where it has recruited health professionals from Cuba to work within the country’s healthcare system.

The United States (US) has stepped up its call for Caribbean countries to end the health programme with Cuba, saying Washington “stands with those affected and continues to work for an end to the Cuban regime’s exploitative labour practices”.

A statement issued following the weekly Cabinet meeting said the Government welcomes “the arrival of 120 nurses from the Republic of Ghana expected over the weekend of January 23, 2026, who will serve within the public healthcare system of Antigua and Barbuda”.

“Minister of Health, Sir Molwyn Joseph, announced that these nurses will be deployed primarily at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre, as well as within community health clinics and schools, thereby enhancing both hospital-based and community-level healthcare delivery,” the Cabinet statement added.

The health minister told the news conference that recruiting nurses was the Government’s way to solve a critical issue in the healthcare system and that he has no doubt that when the full complement of nurses is deployed in the system, all concerns regarding this valuable component of the system will be addressed.

The healthcare system requires 400 nurses to be considered sufficient to meet the demands. Currently, there are 260 local nurses, 33 Cubans, and 120 Ghanaians due this month.

Permanent Secretary for Health, Stacey Gregg-Paige, who headed the team that travelled to Ghana to interview the prospective nurses, told the news conference that the recruitment was done in collaboration with the Ministry of Ghana and that the recruitment is governed by a memorandum of understanding as well as a service agreement.

“Both instruments were comprehensively reviewed and vetted by the Ministry of Legal Affairs, confirmed to be consistent with Antigua and Barbuda’s legal, regulatory and policy framework, and formally accepted by the Government of Ghana.

“Accordingly, this initiative is lawful, transparent and structured, and operates fully within established public service, regulatory and immigration requirements,” she said.

Gregg-Paige said the recruitment mission was conducted in Accra from September 16-22 last year under the Ghana Labour Exchange Programme, in collaboration with the Ministry of Special Initiatives, Office of the President.

She said 190 applications were received, 32 were rejected due to incomplete documentation or ineligibility, 158 candidates were interviewed using a structured, competency-based process and 127 candidates were accepted as the most suitable to be vetted by the Antigua & Barbuda Nursing Council.

The Medical Director for the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre, Dr Shivon Belle-Jarvis, said a three-week programme of orientation has been planned for the nurses.

“It’s important to understand that anyone going into a system has to go through an onboarding process whether you are coming from within the local system or from abroad.”