Health Minister Pays Working Visit To Ahanta West Hospital

The Minister of Health, Hon. Mintah Akandoh has paid a working visit to the Ahanta West Municipal Hospital- Bokro in the Western Region to assess the state of the facility.

The hospital, which is one of the health facilities under the Agenda 111 project was commissioned by the previous administration to improve healthcare infrastructure across the country.

Speaking during his visit, Hon. Akandoh emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring the completion of the Agenda 111 hospitals.

However, he revealed that at the time of its commissioning, the facility was nowhere near ready to serve the public.

“I have a clear instruction from Mr. President to assess all agenda 111 project and give him a blue print as the way forward,” he stated.

The Health Minister, along with officials from the Ministry of Health, toured the facility to evaluate the extent of work done so far and identify key areas that require intervention.

The assessment aims to facilitate strategic planning for the completion and operationalization of the hospital to serve the health needs of residents in Ahanta West and beyond.

“When we talk about a hospital being in operation, it is not just the brick and mortar that is why I was requesting to see certain departments in the places. You cannot commission a project without hospital equipment being installed,” he stated.

In another development, the Minister has stated that the government currently lacks the financial resources to complete the stalled Agenda 111 hospital projects, a flagship initiative of the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.

Akandoh attributed the funding shortfall to what he described as the failure of the NPP administration to allocate financial resources for the completion of the hospitals before leaving office.

He lamented the initiative’s stalled progress and reiterated that the government does not have the necessary funds to continue work on the uncompleted facilities.

“When John Dramani Mahama was leaving office and there were some ongoing health projects, we left money behind. Once you are leaving behind the uncompleted project, you leave money for the completion. We don’t have a Pesewa as I speak to you now to finish these projects because there was no reliable and dedicated sources of funding.”

Agenda 111, launched in August 2021 under the NPP government, was designed to construct 111 hospitals across Ghana, including 101 district hospitals, six regional hospitals, two psychiatric hospitals, and the redevelopment of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.

The initiative aimed to bridge gaps in healthcare delivery, particularly in districts without hospitals, and strengthen the country’s healthcare system.

Despite its ambitious scope, the project has faced significant delays due to financial constraints, land acquisition issues, and logistical challenges.

Initial projections estimated that each hospital would cost approximately $17 million, with an expected completion timeline of 18 months. However, nearly three years later, many of the projects remain incomplete or have barely progressed beyond the foundational stages.