The United States government has donated a 60-bed mobile field hospital for critical casualty care to the Ghana Armed Forces in Tamale in the Northern Region.
The mobile field hospital which was handed over by the U.S. Ambassador Virginia E. Palmer to the Defence Ministry, Dominic Nitiwul, at a short ceremony is valued at over GHS78 million or $5 million U.S. dollars.
The mobile field hospital includes an intensive care unit, two surgical operating rooms, an X-ray, a laboratory, a morgue, an emergency room, and two generator sets.
The field hospital can be transported and assembled even in remote locations and houses up to 60 patients for full medical and operational needs in any condition.
The state-of-the-art, fully equipped, portable medical facilities can be rapidly deployed to the scene of a disaster or where residents do not have access to routine health care.
Speaking during the ceremony at Nyesie near Tamale, U.S. Ambassador Virginia E. Palmer, said the handing over of the hospital facility is further evidence of the close U.S.-Ghana security partnership, which ensures the Ghana Armed Forces have the full panoply of skills and equipment not just for defending the borders but also for critical military and civilian casualty care.
According to her, the U.S. government is implementing programs in Ghana that will support local communities as they seek to provide economic opportunities to vulnerable populations, strengthen their military-to-military relationship, and bolster the capacity of the Ghanaian security services to ensure that Ghana remains resilient in the face of an increasing threat from violent extremist organisations.
“This mobile hospital combines humanitarian with military assistance, providing essential services and protection to Ghana’s civilian population, as well as the Ghana Armed Forces. In 2021 and 2022, the United States supplied Ghana with a 30-bed field hospital equipped with negative pressure isolation facilities a five-bed ICU/supply facility, and a U.N. Level 1 urgent care facility valued at over GhC28 million or $1.8 million U.S. dollars.”
The Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, indicated that the facility has come at a time when the nation continues to maintain strict vigilance amidst the threat of
terrorism and acts of violent extremism, with the deployment of service personnel in ungoverned spaces, particularly in the northern sector.
“The increased deployment of personnel has necessitated revamping corresponding healthcare provisions to assist health facilities in meeting the health needs of personnel in these regions. The timely donation of this unique Military Hospital Facility in Tamale and its environs cannot be overemphasised.”
He said the Ghana Armed Forces Medical Services are among the Healthcare facilities that provide continuous efficient healthcare services even in the face of industrial actions and that he has absolutely no doubt in his mind that the Ghana Armed Forces would put the facility to beneficial use not only for its fellow countrymen but also to patients from neighboring countries.
The Minister for Defence noted that the facility will augment the Ghana Armed Forces’ healthcare infrastructure, complementing the Ghana Health Services and other allied facilities to enrich the health sector’s capability to achieve universal health coverage in the region with the view to becoming a major Trauma Hospital in the Northern Sector.
“ The strategic location of the hospital along the Tamale Bolgatanga Road and its nearness to Nyesie village, Pong-Tamale, Savelugu, Kanvile, and Nanton makes it ideally positioned to meet the public’s health needs. The hospital facility will provide critical health care, including emergency care, surgeries, and primary healthcare, to its clientele.”
He urged staff and leadership of the Ghana Armed Forces Medical Services of the facility to ensure they maintain the facility to ensure its longevity and serve as the precursor to establishing the Tamale Military Hospital with its adjourning barracks and other facilities.
“Thank you once again, Your Excellency, for this timely gift. We look forward to continued collaboration and partnership in strengthening our healthcare system.”
BY Eric Kombat, Nyesie