By Jibril Abdul Mumuni
Accra, June 22, GNA – Ghana risks producing fewer medical specialists if rising costs of postgraduate medical education are not urgently addressed.
Professor Samuel A. Debrah, President of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, raised the concern during an inaugural lecture at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences in Accra.
The lecture was held under the theme: “Postgraduate Medical Education and Training in Ghana: Now and the Future.”
Prof. Debrah identified inadequate funding of residency training as a major challenge confronting postgraduate medical education.
He noted that although Ghana had made progress in developing local capacity for specialist training, the increasing cost burden within the health sector threatened the sustainability of these gains.
Prof. Debrah warned that the trend could affect affordability and accessibility of specialist training for young medical professionals.
He explained that if the issue was not addressed, Ghana could face a situation where it is unable to produce the required number of specialists to meet national healthcare demands.
Prof. Debrah stressed that postgraduate medical education was a strategic national investment with impact extending beyond healthcare to economic productivity, social equity and national resilience.
He cautioned that financial constraints in residency training programmes could discourage qualified doctors from pursuing specialist education, with long-term consequences for healthcare delivery, particularly in underserved areas.
Prof. Debrah therefore called for policy attention and sustainable funding mechanisms to ensure specialist training remained accessible and responsive to national needs.
He said that advancements in technology, including artificial intelligence and digital systems, were reshaping healthcare delivery and training, and could further influence the cost structure of medical education if not properly managed.
Prof. Debrah urged stakeholders, including government, academic institutions and development partners, to collaborate to strengthen the financing framework for postgraduate medical education.
He emphasised that failure to address rising training costs could undermine Ghana’s ambition to position the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons as a premier postgraduate medical institution in Africa and beyond.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey