Ghana to become center of medical excellence as Agenda 111 project commences on Tuesday

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as part of measures to tackle the ravaging health crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic will on Tuesday 17th August 2021 observe the commencement of the construction of the 111 standard hospitals in the country.

The Project is part of a grand vision for Ghana’s healthcare sector by the Akufo-Addo administration, the realization of which will ensure that 101 outstanding districts will be provided with hospitals in addition to 10 selected regional and specialized hospitals.

Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah who made this known at the Minister’s Press Briefing on Sunday, August 15, 20201, said the President will personally observe the commencement of works at Trede in the Ashanti Region with other contractors in other districts expected to commence works afterwards.

He said Agenda 111 is programmed to take 12 months to complete from the commencement of each unit with a funding of $100 million from the government through the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF).

The project is budgeted at nearly $17 million each of the district and specialized hospitals with funding from the Government of Ghana (GoG) with the construction of the 6 new regional hospitals sort under an Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) arrangement.

This the Minister said the construction of the 111 hospitals will lead to Ghana becoming a Centre of Medical Excellence and a destination for medical tourism in the West African sub-region.

He said: “the project is expected to deepen healthcare delivery at all district levels and ensure that the Ghanaian can access high-quality healthcare at all district levels. It will also provide thousands of jobs for the healthcare staff to be recruited and posted to all these 111 facilities as well as their ancillary workers in these communities. The housing and local services associated with these projects are also expected to add a new layer to local economic activities in service of the local communities.”

Mr Oppong Nkrumah called on all and sundry, 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 the government rolls out the project in full.