Ghana Faces Severe Radiographer Shortage, Experts Call for Expanded Roles and Government Support

Ghana is grappling with a critical shortage of radiographers, a situation that experts warn threatens the timely detection and treatment of life-threatening diseases.

The country currently has only 800 radiographers serving a population of over 30 million people. In Nigeria, the situation is even more dire, with just 200 clinical radiographers available for more than 200 million citizens. This shortage severely limits access to medical imaging services, making it difficult to diagnose and treat conditions affecting internal organs in time.

President of the Ghana Society of Radiographers (GSR), Dennis Amartey Ahia, revealed that Ghana has not recruited additional radiographers since 2019, citing restrictions tied to external economic policies.

The high cost of training further compounds the problem. Professor Eric Kwasi Ofori, Head of the Imaging Department at the University of Cape Coast, explained that training a postgraduate student in radiography abroad costs between £15,000 and £20,000 annually, while a PhD requires four years of funding. He stressed the need for government support to implement a locally developed curriculum that could ease the burden.

Radiologists, who specialize in interpreting scans, are even fewer in number. Ghana has only 93 radiologists—meaning each one serves approximately 400,000 people. As a result, many patients are forced to travel long distances for imaging services, often leading to treatment delays and complications.

Experts believe expanding the scope of radiographers to include image interpretation could help bridge the gap. Speaking at the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technologists Conference and the GSR’s Triennial Conference for English-speaking countries, Mr. Ahia noted:

“We as radiographers are opening our scope to be able to interpret the X-ray so that the patient won’t need to travel to find the 93 radiographers in the country.”

Stakeholders are urging urgent government intervention to train more professionals and support initiatives that will bring critical diagnostic services closer to patients.