A/R: Gov't To Commission 6 or 7 Agenda 111 Hospitals By End Of The Year - Simon Osei-Mensah

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Hon. Simon Osei-Mensah, has announced that approximately 6 or 7 Agenda 111 hospitals will be inaugurated and operational by the conclusion of 2024.

Hon. Osei-Mensah noted that the Ministry of Health has approved additional Agenda 111 hospital projects in the Ashanti Region, bringing the total from 16 to 19.

During an interview on Time FM 97.7MHz’s Ama Ghana Morning Show with Nana Kwabena Ampratwum, he identified specific projects such as the Psychiatric Hospital in Ejisu and the Accident and Trauma Hospital in Obuasi as part of this initiative.

He expressed optimism that these developments will significantly enhance healthcare facilities in the Ashanti Region by the end of the year.

Hon. Osei-Mensah acknowledged the challenges faced in the region’s healthcare infrastructure before the NPP took office, emphasizing that substantial progress has been made across all sectors, albeit needing improved public awareness which they are committed to enhancing.

Background

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday, 18th August 2021, broke ground for construction works to begin on the “Agenda 111 district hospital” at Trede in the Atwima Kwanwoma District of the Ashanti Region.

The Agenda 111 hospitals, the biggest ever investment in the nation’s healthcare sector, is aimed at building district hospitals across the country concurrently, with a funding of US$100m.

The Project Implementation Committee of “Agenda 111 hospitals”, chaired by the Chief of Staff, Mrs Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, has secured 88 sites. The acquisition of the remaining 13 sites will be completed shortly for work to begin.

Each unit(Hospital) will cost US$16.88 million, comprising US$12.88 million for construction and US$4 million for medical equipment. Each hospital will be completed in 18 months.

Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony, President Akufo-Addo said the ravages of COVID-19 had not only disrupted people’s daily lives but had also exposed the inefficiencies in the country’s healthcare system “because of years of under-investment and neglect.”

He said from a careful healthcare infrastructure analysis conducted; the governance discovered 101 districts in the country with no district hospitals and needed to fix the dying situation urgently.

The creation of new regions also meant that the government has to construct seven regional hospitals for the new regions, including a new one for the Western Region, two new psychiatric hospitals for the middle and northern belts, and the rehabilitation of the Effia- Nkwanta Hospital in the Western Region, which led to Agenda 111.

President Akufo-Addo said Agenda 111 hospital projects had been carefully thought through to engender growth in the various sectors of the economy, and help create jobs to the youth.

He said a consortium, comprising 20 Ghanaian consulting firms, including architects, civil, structural, electrical and mechanical engineers, quantity surveyors, bio-medical engineers, and other technical teams had designed these hospitals to reflect the country’s unique domestic requirements — the impact of the climate, sociology-cultural conditions and traditional practices.

They (consortium) will supervise the construction of these hospitals built by some 250 local contractors and maintained by domestic management professionals as part of the government’s policy of developing domestic capability in the building and construction sectors of the economy.

More also, the President said the building of the hospital projects would require significant domestic inputs, giving impetus to private sector investments into the “1D1F” policy.

The construction of these hospitals, President Akufo-Addo explained, will contribute largely to making the country a centre of medical excellence and a destination for medical tourism in West Africa.

It will also provide thousands of jobs for the healthcare staff to be recruited and posted to all these facilities and their ancillary workers in these communities.

The housing and local services that come along with these projects are also expected to add a new layer to local economic activities to serve the local communities.

“I expect Ghanaian entrepreneurs to take advantage of the opportunities provided by this significant investment and produce quality building and construction materials required by the hospitals.”