President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo said work has commenced on some 87 out of the 111 sites for the state sponsored hospitals known as Agenda 111.
According to him, great deal of preparatory work has also been completed for the remaining works to take off.
He admitted during the delivery of State Of The Nation Address Wednesday March 30, 2022 the initial date given for the completion of the 111 hospitals was overly ambitious.
“Mr Speaker, I have to report that, like all major construction projects, it is evident that the initial schedule we gave for the completion of the Agenda 111 was overly ambitious,” he said.
He mentioned one of the challenges confronted and delayed the start of thr projects is the Identifying suitable sites around the country turned out to be even more problematic than had been anticipated.
“I am able to say that a great deal of the preparatory work has now been completed, and work has started at eighty-seven (87) of the one hundred and eleven (111) sites.
“I have been assured that preliminary work on the remaining twenty-four (24) sites is ongoing. We have every intention of seeing this project through to a successful end, which will enable me to commission all one hundred and eleven (111) hospitals before I leave office on 7th January 2025.”
The Agenda 111 was born out of the necessity to address some of the shortcomings in the health sector. Considering the normal rate of growth, Ghana are not likely to make up the deficit in our health facilities infrastructure for a very long time hence, the need for a special, dedicated programme of infrastructural development.
Government is therefore undertaking the construction of 111 entities, which comprise standard 100-bed district hospitals for one hundred and one (101) districts 1without hospitals, with accommodation for doctors and nurses; six new regional hospitals for each of the six new regions; the rehabilitation of the Effia-Nkwanta Hospital in the Western Region; one new regional hospital for the Western Region; and three psychiatric hospitals for each of the three zones of the country, i.e. North, Middle and Coastal.
The ambitious project is expected to create some thirty-three thousand, nine hundred (33,900) jobs for construction workers, and, on completion, some thirty-four thousand, three hundred (34,300) jobs for health workers.
President Akufo-Addo expressed optimism
he will see the project through to a successful end, which will enable him to commission all the 111 hospitals before he leave office on January 7, 2025.
By Vincent Kubi