Minister of Health: Government lacks funds to complete Agenda 111 projects

According to Minister of Health Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the government currently lacks funds necessary to finish the hospital projects that have been put on hold under Agenda 111, a major project of the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.

 His comments have raised fresh questions about the future of ambitious projects, which were launched to improve access to healthcare, especially in underprivileged areas.

Hon. Akandoh attributed the NPP administration’s failure to provide funds for the hospitals’ completion prior to his departure from office as the cause of the funding deficit.

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In an interview with reporters on Monday, March 10, he criticized the initiative’s delayed progress and reiterated that the government lacks the funding to finish the facilities.

He said, “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 were no reliable and dedicated sources of funding.”

Agenda 111 was introduced in August 2021 with the goal of building 111 hospitals around Ghana, including two psychiatric hospitals, six regional hospitals, 101 district hospitals, and the renovation of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.

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 The program aims to improve the nation’s healthcare system and close gaps in healthcare delivery, especially in hospital-devoid districts.

According to initial estimates, each hospital would cost about $17 million, and it would take 18 months to complete. But over three years later, a large number of the projects are still unfinished or have only just advanced past the foundational phases.