Ghana’s Agenda 111 pushes on with VP breaking ground on a state-of-art hospital in Ejura

GHANA— Ghana’s ambitious healthcare infrastructure, Agenda 111 continues to take shape, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, has cut sod for an envisioned state-of-the-art 100-bed Hospital at Ejura Sekyeredumase District, Ashanti Region.

The proposed new hospital is expected to have state-of-the-art equipment including X -Rays, Medical Gases, a Haematology Analyzer, a Chemistry Analyzer, a CT Scanner, MRI, Ultrasound, Fluoroscopy, Mammography, and a Microbiology Analyzer.

The new hospital is also expected to have accommodation for some staff and is expected to be completed in 18 months at a cost of US$ 16 million.

At the ceremony, Dr. Bawumia reiterated the Government’s commitment to securing the improved welfare of all person residents in Ghana, hence the decision, among others, to construct 111 hospitals of varied usage to ensure every district has a hospital and is within reach of a higher-level facility.

“Agenda 111 is the biggest investment in hospital infrastructure in Ghana’s history since Independence. We want to ensure that every district in Ghana has a hospital,” stressed the VP.

Dr. Bawumia explained that Ghana has six new regions, so the government was building six new regional hospitals, as well as upgrading the Efia Nkwanta hospital (Western Region), moreover was also the construction of two new Psychiatric hospitals, in Kumasi and Tamale.

Dr. Bawumia also noted that the government had also undertaken several initiatives to increase access to and improve the delivery of health care.

He also noted that projects such as the provision of ambulances nationwide under the One Constituency One Ambulance program, the ongoing networking of hospitals to facilitate access to medical case histories, the introduction of the drone medical delivery system, and the E-Pharmacy regime.

“We will continually explore ways to improve our healthcare delivery approaches and systems. A healthy nation is a wealthy nation. We all need our strengths to develop Ghana the way we want to”, he added.

Thanking the Government for the hospital project, the chief of Ejura, Barima Osei Hwedie II expressed delight at the quantum of projects undertaken in Ejura and its environs under President Akufo-Addo.

President Akufo-Addo’s Ambitious Agenda 111

The Ejura Sekyeredumase district hospital is being constructed as part of the Ghanaian government’s flagship Agenda 111 Projects program.

Agenda 111, as christened by the Government, is an ambitious plan to bridge the health infrastructure deficit in the country.

It was mooted at the height of the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic, which laid bare the need for Ghana to upgrade, expand and distribute equitably, health facilities across the country to better handle epidemics of such proportions.

The project, which involves the construction of 111 hospitals, was inaugurated by President Nana Akufo-Addo on August 17, 2021, with a promise to complete the work within 18 months.

As envisioned by the Government, 101 hospitals would be constructed in districts without health facilities, six hospitals would be built in the newly created region, and two specialist hospitals would be put up in the middle and Northern belts of the country.

The Ghanaian government set aside an amount of US$100 million in its 2022-2023 budget as commencement funding the ambitious Agenda 111 project, which would radically change the face of Ghana’s healthcare system.

The Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, revealed in June 2023 that 88 hospitals out of ‘Agenda 111’ are currently under construction.

Some districts have faced challenges in acquiring land for construction, leading to doubts about the government’s commitment to the projects.

However, the government remains confident that all the hospitals will be completed before the end of President Akufo-Addo’s second term.

However, the government remains confident that all the hospitals will be completed before the end of President Akufo-Addo’s second term.

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