The ongoing construction of some 89 districts, two psychiatric hospitals and six regional hospitals is estimated at US$1.765 billion. The projects, dubbed Agenda 111, whose ground-breaking ceremony occurred on Tuesday, August 17, 2021 are about 52% complete.
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, announced the total estimate of the entire projects on Saturday, September 30, 2023 at Lapaz, Accra, where he opened the St. Michael’s Specialist Hospital.
The President did not, however, give further information on the cost, but presenting the mid-year budget review in August, the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta indicated that as of May, this year, total payment under the Agenda 111 initiative was US$189.34 million.
JOBS
These projects, the government has said, are being constructed by indigenous Ghanaian contractors and are providing direct and indirect jobs.
President Akufo-Addo, during his address last Saturday, spent some time on the Agenda 111 initiative and gave a breakdown of the jobs created and what would be created after the construction.
According to him, over sixty-seven thousand (67,635) people will be employed in the Agenda 111 hospitals.
“There is an average number of one hundred and twenty (120) workers on each construction site, which when completed an average of five hundred and forty-nine (549) persons will be employed in a district hospital, one thousand, three hundred and forty-three (1,343) in a regional hospital and nine hundred and forty-seven (947) in each psychiatric hospital,” the President said.
He continued, “this means that sixty-seven thousand, six hundred and thirty-five (67,635) people will be employed in the Agenda 111 hospitals.”
CONSTRUCTION
The Agenda 111 initiative provides 101 standard 100-bed hospitals and accommodation for doctors and nurses in districts without district hospitals.
The six new regions created in 2018 will also have a regional hospital each, and the Effia-Nkwanta hospital in the Western Region is witnessing rehabilitation.
There are two psychiatry hospitals in two of the three zones of the country, that is, the middle and northern zones.
The President opined that the other interventions by his government to improve the healthcare delivery system, such as the 307 new ambulances, the drones for emergency medical supplies, the 58041 recruitment of health workers and the improvements in the national health insurance scheme, add to Agenda 111 to demonstrate the government’s commitment to better healthcare delivery.
ST MICHAEL’S HOSPITAL
The President cited the touching life story of the vision bearer and encouraged others not to throw their hands up in despair, when life’s challenges bear its teeth at them.
“Let me conclude by applauding once again, Mr. Michael Banahene, and all those who worked tirelessly to bring this project to fruition. I want to reiterate the call to the administrators of this hospital to embrace and strengthen the culture of maintenance. This edifice has been put at great cost and you should be in a position in the foreseeable future to keep it in good condition. It should not fall the way current institutions like this in Ghana have gone,” he advised.
St. Michael’s Specialist Hospital is a multidisciplinary, ultramodern facility that provides excellent customer care and exudes true comfort.
Designed like a hotel-style, the hospital has a vision to be the preferred healthcare service provider in Ghana and West Africa.
The facility comprises 20 consultation rooms, 100 inpatient beds including suites, executive suites, 10 intensive care beds, 8 neonatal intensive care cots, private delivery rooms, 3 operating theatres, a cardiac catheterisation laboratory, CT, X-ray and ultrasound, a laboratory, a pharmacy and a dental suite.
The hospital has come about “after 12 years of preparation and construction,” the Board Chairman, Michael Banahene, stated in his welcome address and thanked all who had played a role.
He mentioned that over 600 Ghanaians will be employed to work 24 hours a week at the facility.
The executive floor of the hospital is named after former President John Agyekum Kufuor. Speaking at the ceremony, the Gentle Giant commended his grandnephew for the bold initiative.
