By Lawrence Odoom/Phalonzy
The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has conceded that the present administration may be unable to deliver every hospital under the Agenda 111 initiative, citing formidable financial and logistical constraints.
Speaking during an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, April 22, the Minister affirmed that while government remains resolute in its commitment to expanding healthcare infrastructure, it must embrace a pragmatic posture toward inherited projects from the previous administration led by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
“If we say that we will be able to complete all the Agenda 111 projects, which are over 100, within one year or even four years, it is a lie. Let’s be realistic and I started saying this even in opposition, and you heard me loud and clear that there was no way we were going to complete these 111 hospitals within the timeframe the president gave us,” Mr. Akandoh stated.
He explained that the sheer magnitude of the Agenda 111 programme, compounded by disparate levels of completion at the point of transition, renders blanket completion within a truncated timeframe untenable.
“According to him, the scale of the Agenda 111 programme, combined with varying levels of completion at the time of the transition, makes it difficult to guarantee full completion within a short period,” the report noted.
While several facilities are at advanced stages of construction, others remain in nascent phases and will demand substantial time and capital injection to reach completion.
The Agenda 111 initiative, unveiled under the Akufo-Addo administration, was envisioned as a flagship intervention to bridge “critical gaps in Ghana’s healthcare infrastructure.”
The blueprint sought to erect 111 hospitals across districts, regional capitals, and specialized enclaves, with the overarching objective of “improving access to quality healthcare, particularly in underserved areas.”