Trede — So far, 88 hospitals under the government's "Agenda 111" are currently under construction and progressing steadily, since 2021, says the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.
President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, cut the sod for the construction of the facilities on August 17, 2021, with a promise to complete the work within 18 months.
The plan to construct the hospitals was first announced in the 8th COVID-19 national address, on April 26, 2020, by the President months after the Coronavirus pandemic hit Ghana.
It was initially "Agenda 88" but government later revised it to "Agenda 111." The 23 additional facilities included, 13 more district hospitals bringing the total figure to 111.
The standard 100-bed facilities which will be in districts without hospitals will also have accommodation for staff.
Beneficiary regions and respective breakdown are Ashanti, 10, Volta, nine, Eastern, eight, Greater Accra, seven, Upper East, seven, Oti, five, Upper West, five, Bono, five, Western North, five, Savanna, three, Bono East, two, North East, two.
The remaining are six regional hospitals in the newly created regions, two specialised hospitals in the middle and northern belts, as well as a regional hospital in the Western Region and renovation of the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital.
Each unit is supposed to have facilities such as outpatient services, including consultation for medical and surgical cases, ophthalmology, dental and physiotherapy and imaging services.
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At a press briefing yesterday at Trede, where the sod cutting ceremony was held, the Information Minister said "the brief I have is that 88 are currently under construction and it is grouped into eight zones and in those eight zones, you will find 54 projects. We have visited 33 sites so far and we thought that coming to Trede, where it all began, it is important to showcase from Trede all that has gone on so far."
He noted that some districts had faced challenges in acquiring land for construction, leading to doubts about the government's commitment to the projects.
"However, the government remains confident that all the hospitals will be completed before the end of President Akufo-Addo's second term," he assured.
Mr Nkrumah stated that some of the hospitals which were behind schedule had been terminated.
"We have provided you with the reports of the sites that we have visited so far, the majority of them that are doing well, the few of them that are behind schedule. We have also updated you on the ones that we have had to terminate because they are behind schedule," he indicated.
Contributing, Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, the Presidential advisor on Health, assured that there was sufficient funding available for the completion of the projects.
Additionally, he said upon completion, the hospitals would create employment opportunities for nurses and contribute to the overall economic growth of the country.
