COVID-19: Gov’t to construct 88 district hospitals in a year

President Akufo-Addo has indicated that his government will begin the construction of 88 hospitals in districts without hospitals with the intention of completing them in a year.

The Ashanti region would have 10 of such hospitals while the Central and Volta regions would be bequeathed  9 each.

The Eastern and  Greater Accra regions would get  8 and 7 each respectively,  while the Upper East and Northern regions would be bequeathed 7 and 5 each accordingly.

The Oti, Upper West and Bono regions would have 5 each with the Western North, Western, Ahafo and  Savannah regions getting 4, 4, 3 and 3 respectively. Two in  Bono East and two in North East regions.

He indicated that each of the hospitals  will be of  quality standard designed 100 bed hospital with accommodation for doctors, nurses and other health workers.

President Akufo-Addo made this known in his address to the nation this evening on steps being taken to fight the deadly pandemic COVID-19.

According to the President the decision to undertake this major investment in the health sector is not because it is easy but because it is self evidently necessary to serve the needs of 21st century Ghana.

He explained that the pandemic COVID-19  virus has revealed the unequal distribution of health facilities.

He said most of the health infrastructure are concentrated  in Accra, Kumasi and some few areas leaving the other parts of the country unattended but  epidemics and  pandemics when they emerge can spread to any parts of our countries.

“There are 88 districts in our country without district hospitals . We have six new regions without regional hospitals and we  cannot have infectious disease control centers dotted across the country and we do not have enough testing and isolation centers for disease such as COVID-19, he observed.

“We must do something urgently about this. That’s is why the government has decided to undertake a major investment in our healthcare infrastructure , the largest in our history” he affirmed.

President  Akufo Addo also said his government has put in place plans to construct 6 new regional hospital in the 6 new regions and  rehabilitate the Effia Nkwanta Hospital in Sekondi.