By Maxwell Nkansah
President Akufo-Addo has directed that about 20,000 health professionals would be employed when government’s Agenda 111 hospital projects is completed.
The development involves the construction of 111 District Hospitals, regional hospitals and two psychiatric hospitals.
According to the President, after the project is completed it would provide job opportunities for some 20,000 health professionals and hence enable the Ministry of Health to recruit more doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals.
President Akufo-Addo said there would be many indirect jobs for residents in the local economy after the completion of the project. He said this whiles breaking grounds for the construction of the hospitals at Trede, in the Ashanti Region on Tuesday.
Each of the hospital projects will cost 17 million dollars. Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah on Sunday indicated that “currently, an amount of $100 million has been allocated for the project through the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund. The project when completed in 18 months, will deliver to each underserved district, a world-class health facility capable of attending to all major ailments.
Addressing a durbar, the President said making Ghana the centre of excellence for medical care in Africa by 2030 remains his priority and counted on the projects to attain that feat.
He said a consortium comprising of some 20 Ghanaian consulting firms made up of architects, civil structural, electrical, mechanical engineers, quantity surveyors, biomedical engineers and other technical teams came together to design the hospitals to reflect the country’s unique domestic requirement.
According to the President, he is confident that this important investment will have a positive impact on many lives and livelihoods in the respective communities.