A Civil Society Organization, Research Centre for Policy Advocacy and Governance (ReCPAG) has recommended to the government to complete and make functional the abandoned Health projects with the $17million or better still construct more Polyclinics since the average cost of a standard and well-equipped district hospital ranges between $40million and $52million based on the specifications.
According to the CSO, the Agenda 111 project can best be described as a rehash of unfulfilled sod-cutting exercise which lacks a feasibility plan taking into consideration the paltry unit cost, the duration for completion, and the inadequately defined funding strategy of these capital intensive projects.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Tuesday, 17th August 2021, at the sod cutting for the commencement of Agenda 111, said each hospital is being constructed for US$16.88 million, which is US$12.88 million for construction and US$4 million for medical equipment. All the hospitals are to be completed in eighteen (18) months.
But Research Centre for Policy Advocacy and Governance in a statement said “Our painstaking investigation reveals that each of the 88 100 bed capacity clinical state of the art facilities also comes with accommodation for doctors, nurses, and other health workers allocating us$17million per facility unrealistic taking into consideration a similar 100-bed capacity Shama District which cost €32million.
“Furthermore, the cost of two sixty (60) bed capacity district hospitals which were commissioned by the President himself, Nana Akuffo in Ahafo Ano Municipality at Tepa and the Twifo Praso District Hospitals with same departments including Out Patient Department (OPD), Operating Theatres, Emergency and Casualty Unit, Maternity and Child Health, Pharmacy, Laboratory, Mortuary, Wards, Physiotherapy and among many other and fourteen (14) Staff Housing Unit at US$36million and US$36.6million is enough evidence of proving that, the US$17million can only be used to complete polyclinics.
“The President’s vision could have been possible if the government had at least allocated 15% of its annual budget in the last five years to this agenda 111 as required by the Abuja Declaration to avert situations where projects are abandoned after sod cutting in the cases of La General Hospital and the Shama District Hospital among many other projects under this government. Government must therefore define and get its funding strategy right, giving the eighteen months duration of these projects.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com/Kofi Atakora
