Africa urged to harness diaspora expertise for healthcare reform

Africa must harness diaspora expertise and break professional silos to fix deep structural weaknesses in its healthcare systems, speakers at the third annual conference of the Ghanaian-Diaspora Nursing Alliance (G-DNA) said, as more than 400 health professionals from Africa and abroad met in Ghana to chart a new, collaborative path for care delivery.

The conference, G-DNA’s first multidisciplinary gathering, brought together nurses, midwives, doctors, pharmacists and policymakers under the theme “Voices of Change: Shaping the Future of African Healthcare,” signalling a shift from nurse-led advocacy to continent-wide, team-based solutions.

The President and Co-Founder of G-DNA, Prof. Yvonne Commodore-Mensah, said the meeting marked a turning point in reframing Africa’s long-standing brain drain challenge into “brain gain,” as skilled Africans in the diaspora seek structured ways to contribute to health systems back home.

“Innovations developed in Ghana can transform healthcare across Africa and globally,” she said, adding that the Alliance was deliberately expanding its scope to ensure solutions reflect the realities of frontline care.

She pointed to unemployment and underemployment among nurses and midwives in the country as a pressing concern, arguing that innovation and cross-sector partnerships are essential to closing care gaps.

One such initiative, the Mama CVD Programme, trains unemployed nurses and midwives, particularly in rural areas, to use portable, AI-powered ultrasound devices to detect heart failure during pregnancy.

Developed after G-DNA won a hackathon sponsored by Johnson & Johnson and Microsoft, the programme has already trained 57 midwives, helping to extend specialist screening to communities with limited access to cardiologists.

Representing the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Hafez Adam Taher said the government is actively seeking stronger partnerships with diaspora groups and the private sector to accelerate healthcare delivery.

He said public–private partnerships under Ghana’s Comprehensive Primary Healthcare Programme offer entry points for collaboration in capacity building, infrastructure development and retooling of facilities, adding that the Ministry of Health has created an enabling framework for such engagements.

Taher also highlighted Mahama Cares, the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, as a critical complement to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), particularly for patients requiring specialised and life-saving care.

Health sector leaders warned that collaboration is no longer optional.

The President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo, said diaspora professionals who have excelled abroad can play a decisive role by transferring skills, systems and discipline that improve patient outcomes.

“Strong health systems require policy coherence, data, financing and sustained dialogue,” she said, expressing hope that conference outcomes would influence decision-making at the highest levels and accelerate progress toward universal health coverage.

The President of the Ghana Medical Association, Prof. Ernest Yorke, said Africa’s healthcare challenges cannot be solved in silos, stressing that effective delivery depends on coordinated action by doctors, nurses, pharmacists and allied professionals.

He raised alarm over the continued migration of health workers, their uneven concentration in urban centres and chronic underfunding of the sector, noting that many African countries still fail to meet the Abuja Declaration target of allocating 15 percent of national budgets to health.

The Special guest of honour, Dr. Sheldon Fields, President of the National Black Nurses Association, linked the conference’s message to the World Health Organization’s Triple Billion targets for 2025–2028.

With Africa carrying more than a quarter of the global disease burden but accounting for less than 5 percent of the global healthcare workforce, he said the continent cannot meet global health targets without empowered nurses, ethical diaspora engagement and deliberate investment in multidisciplinary care.

Organisers said the conference underscores G-DNA’s mission to mobilise healthcare professionals of African descent worldwide to build sustainable, people-centred health systems, warning that without coordinated action, Africa’s health gaps will continue to widen.

The 2026 G-DNA Conference is expected to attract more than 400 healthcare professionals, policymakers and researchers, expanding the platform for innovation, policy influence and cross-border cooperation.

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