Nurses with the Ghana Health Service stationed in four districts in the Upper East Region, specifically Binduri, Garu, Pusiga, and Bawku are calling on the government to immediately oversee their transfer from the area, citing the escalation in violence and growing fears for their safety.
According to the affected nurses, the recent gunfire and unrest in Bawku mark the worst security threat they have faced in over a decade of working in the area.
While Bawku has long been considered a conflict-prone zone, the nurses say the current situation is unprecedented in intensity and danger.
Speaking on condition of anonymity in an interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM‘s “Kokrokoo” morning show on Monday, July 28, 2025, two out of the many nurses who have been trapped in the conflict narrated their ordeal.
One of them, Shirley (pseudonym), recounted terrifying moments during a shift last Wednesday when a colleague’s husband arrived at their facility speaking Kusasi, urging his wife to go home due to the deteriorating security situation.
“We were at work when a colleague’s husband came to tell her to run home because the Mamprusis want to avenge the death of their relative who had allegedly been murdered. Just ten minutes after he left, we heard gunshots,” she said.
Adding that several appeals to authorities over the years to either evacuate or transfer them have fallen on deaf ears.”We have been here for ten years and have tried to apply for transfers, but the GHS always refuses us the opportunity to be transferred….We can not be running away from the guns with our children, especially when there are no means of transport. Getting transportation to go home was nearly impossible we only got back by God’s grace….Our lives are in danger. We need the government to evacuate us immediately”, the nurses added.
Another nurse, who lives in Gingande near the Bawku chief’s palace, said she has been confined indoors for days due to the frequency of gunfire in her area. “The sound of the shooting is non-stop. I can’t go to work. I fear for my life,” she said.
Despite the constant danger, these nurses say they have never received any risk allowance from the government.
The health workers emphasized that they are in a no-win situation: staying at post endangers their lives, while staying away risks their salaries being blocked and their positions being declar
