Since the pandemic began in 2020, healthcare workers worldwide have mobilized to fight the spread of COVID-19, often putting their own safety at risk. In Ghana, the legacy of colonialism continues to cast a shadow on the nations’ universal healthcare system, complicating the challenges faced by its workforce. An exodus of expertise, debates about the country’s place in global health infrastructures, and a pressing need to offer vital care to patients sparked fear that the nation’s healthcare system would falter under the pressure of COVID-19. Despite these fears, Ghanaian healthcare workers braved lockdown, rationed supplies, and overcame chronic vaccine shortages to provide patients with care.
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In February 2021, Ghana became the first country to receive a shipment of COVID-19 vaccines from the United Nation, setting a new precedent for global health equity. However, complex issues of culture and tribe, urban and rural life, and funding and future remain pressing issues for Ghana’s healthcare system. Working on the frontlines of this system, Ghana’s healthcare workers exhibit courage, resilience, and vulnerability. In these stories, you hear the voices of these healthcare workers, gaining reflective insight into their experiences on the frontlines throughout the pandemic. To listen to a story, click on a narrator’s name.
To protect their identities, each narrator was given a pseudonym. This protection is crucial to ensure each narrator can share the full truth of their lived experience. It is also crucial due to the repercussions that Black healthcare workers face when they speak up about experiencing issues of discrimination. Each narrator is also listed with their medical specialty. To listen to a story, click on a narrator’s name.
Abel
Doctor - General Practitioner
Adwoah
Doctor - Specialist Practitioner
Agbeli
Doctor - General Practitioner
Akwasi
Doctor - General Practitioner
Albert
Doctor - General Practitioner
Albert Efum
Doctor - General Practitioner
Amma Abena
Doctor - General Practitioner
Angela
Doctor - Specialist Practitioner
Bernice
Doctor - General Practitioner
Blessing
Doctor - General Practitioner
Daniel
Doctor - General Practitioner
Dolores
Doctor - General Practitioner
Edward
Doctor - General Practitioner
Emmanuel
Doctor -
Emmanuella Aba
Doctor - General Practitioner
Eric
Doctor - General Practitioner
Ethan
Doctor - General Practitioner
Evans Kumi
Doctor - General Practitioner
Fafali
Doctor - General Practitioner
Francis
Doctor - General Practitioner
Francis
Doctor - General Practitioner
Helen
Doctor - General Practitioner
Herbert
Doctor - General Practitioner
Isaac
Doctor - General Practitioner
James
Doctor -
Jeffrey
Doctor - General Practitioner
Judith
Doctor - General Practitioner
Judith Atta
Doctor - General Practitioner
Kekeli
Doctor - General Practitioner
Kofi
Doctor -
Kosi
Doctor - General Practitioner
Kwabena
Doctor -
Kwadwo
Doctor - General Practitioner
Kwaku
Doctor - General Practitioner
Lionel
Doctor - General Practitioner
Lola
Doctor -
Malcolm
Doctor - General Practitioner
Margaret
Doctor -
Mark
Doctor - Emergency Physician
Matthew
Doctor - General Practitioner
Setusi
Doctor - Specialist Practitioner
Simon
Doctor - Specialist Practitioner
Stella
Doctor - General Practitioner
Stephen
Doctor - General Practitioner
Susanne
Doctor - General Practitioner
Tobias
Doctor - General Practitioner
Vera
Doctor - General Practitioner
Vincent
Doctor - General Practitioner
Wilbur
Doctor - Specialist Practitioner
William
Doctor - General Practitioner
Wisdom
Doctor - General Practitioner
Abbie Adwoah
Nurse - Teaching Hospital
Adopho
Nurse - Ghana Health Service
Akua Rose
Nurse - Ghana Health Service
Alia
Nurse - Ghana Health Service
Anastasia
Nurse - Teaching Hospital
Andrew
Nurse - CHAoHF
Bonnie
Nurse - Teaching Hospital
Carolynn
Nurse - Ghana Health Service
Carrie
Nurse - Medical Centre
Charles
Nurse - Ghana Health Service
Christine
Nurse - Medical Centre
Daniel
Nurse - Teaching Hospital
Edward
Nurse - CHAoHF
Edwin
Nurse - CHAoHF
Elaine
Nurse - COVID Centre
Essie
Nurse - Ghana Health Service
Evans
Nurse - Ghana Health Service
Felicity
Nurse - Teaching Hospital
Geophrey
Nurse - CHAoHF
Gerald
Nurse -
Gideon
Nurse - CHAoHF
Hasan
Nurse - Quasi-Governmental Hospital
Hellen
Nurse - Medical Centre
Jacquline
Nurse - Medical Centre
Jasmine
Nurse - Teaching Hospital
Jeremiah
Nurse - Ghana Health Service
Joy Anne
Nurse - Medical Centre
Judie
Nurse - CHAoHF
Judith
Nurse - Ghana Health Service
Judith Amma
Nurse - Ghana Health Service
Kandi
Nurse - Teaching Hospital
Kavin
Nurse - Ministry of Health
Nancy
Nurse -
Nathan
Nurse - Quasi-Governmental Hospital
Patrick
Nurse - Teaching Hospital
Peter
Nurse - Teaching Hospital
Promise
Nurse - Medical Centre
Reginald
Nurse - Teaching Hospital
Roger
Nurse - Ghana Health Service
Ruby
Nurse - CHAoHF
Ruby Esi
Nurse - CHAoHF
Sarah
Nurse - CHAoHF
Seraphina
Nurse - Ghana Health Service
Shelly
Nurse - CHAoHF
Susan
Nurse - CHAoHF
Theresa
Nurse - Ghana Health Service
Umar
Nurse - Teaching Hospital
Yasir
Nurse - Ghana Health Service
Yaw
Nurse - Teaching Hospital