Agenda 111 projects: Operationalization is incumbent on sitting gov’t – Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare

Former Presidential Advisor on Health under the erstwhile Akufo-Addo administration, Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare has said it is government’s responsibility to look for resources to operationalize the commissioned hospitals under the Agenda 111 projects.

His comment comes after the Health Minister, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh told journalists on Tuesday that civil works on three of the Agenda 111 projects commissioned under the Akufo-Addo government are yet to be completed as they are below 95 percent.

Speaking in an interview, Dr. Nsiah-Asare explained that the commissioned hospitals at their current stages can be fully operationalized while government add on with equipment and staff later.

“A hospital which they have agreed is about 95% according to what they are saying can be commissioned and even operationalized. The OPD and other things can be used whiles you add on. When the laboratories and the OPD equipment and other things are there, people can go there.

Read also: Only one Agenda 111 Hospital completed; $1.7bn needed to complete project – Mahama

“That’s exactly what has happened. So, it is incumbent on them as a sitting government to find resources and make it operational…I challenge them, they can start running the facility if they like,” he said on JoyNews, Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

He cited past instances where the NDC government commissioned hospitals including the Ridge Hospital in 2017 but was operationalized by the Akufo-Addo administration.

He noted that operationalization of a hospital and commissioning it are separate processes.

“For instance, Ridge Hospital was commissioned, but it was not operational when we assumed office. We had to make it functional in 2017. Similarly, the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) was commissioned, but it only became operational during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when we utilised its intensive care unit,” he explained.

“I was surprised when I heard that only one has been commissioned and that there are no beds, no chairs,” he added.

According to him, an action plan and a blueprint of the Agenda 111 hospitals were submitted as part of the handing over notes to the transition team prior to President Mahama’s assumption in office.

Agenda 111: Commissioned Trede Hospital still incomplete, GHS 100M needed for completion – Health Minister

The post Agenda 111 projects: Operationalization is incumbent on sitting gov’t – Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare first appeared on 3News.

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