President Akufo-Addo has broken grounds for the commencement of construction works for government’s much touted Agenda 111 project.
The construction of the 111 hospitals is part of measures to tackle the country’s ailing health system caused largely by the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic.
Cutting the sod for the commencement of the project in Trede in the Ashanti Region, the President said the successful completion of the project would ensure that 101 outstanding districts would be provided with hospitals.
He added that the six newly created regions would be provided with six regional hospitals and an extra regional hospital for the Western Region, two mental hospitals would be built in the middle and southern belts as well as the redevelopment of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.
It would be recalled that the President first made the announcement to embark on the construction of this massive health infrastructure during his 8th address to the nation on COVID-19 in April last year.
Explaining the rationale behind the construction of the hospitals, the President said an audit of the country’s health system indicated that 101 districts in the country had no district hospitals. This, coupled with the creation of the six new regions meant government had to embark on this project to provide the underserved areas of the country with health facilities of their own.
“The goal is thus, to position Ghana as an attractive medical destination, with excellent medical facilities, for our neighbors to patronize”, the President said.
The President added that the project would greatly improve Ghana’s health system noting that the 111 hospitals would lead to Ghana becoming a Centre of Medical Excellence and a destination for medical tourism in the West African sub-region by 2030.
The President mentioned that each hospital would be constructed at a cost of $16.88 million that is $12.88 million for the construction and $4 million for medical equipment.
He noted that the hospitals would be completed in 18 months with work commencing on the regional and specialised hospitals in the latter part 2021.
The 111 hospitals would be fully equipped state-of the-art facilities.
The President added that the hospitals when completed, would provide some 20,000 direct jobs for health professionals and many indirect jobs for residents in the local economy such as food vendors, sellers of hospital consumables and many others.
He called on Ghanaians especially, the local beneficiary communities, traditional leaders, youth, and all actors in the local health sector to rally behind the agenda and give their full support as government rolls out the project in full.
Source: MOI (PR Unit)
