No dedicated funding secured for Agenda 111 project – Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama stated on Thursday that the previous administration had not secured a dedicated funding source for the “Agenda 111 project.”

In his State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered in Parliament, he pointed out that none of the “Agenda 111” hospitals are currently operational anywhere in Ghana.

“The Agenda 111 programme started as a knee-jerk reaction during the COVID-19 pandemic when the Ghanaian public began to appreciate the significant investment the previous NDC administration had made in health facilities and lament the many hospital projects that had stalled under the Akufo Addo administration.

“The promise was to build 111 hospitals, but no dedicated funding source was secured for such a gargantuan project. As I speak, not a single Agenda 111 hospital is operational in any part of Ghana,” he stated.

The President also revealed that $400 million had already been disbursed for the project.

 He explained that, at a cost of approximately $18 million per hospital, the $400 million spent could have completed at least 22 hospitals for Ghanaians.

“We will now require GH¢22 billion to complete the projects.

“I have tasked the Minister for Health to present a plan on the way forward for this programme.

“Let me add that we are open to public-private partnerships and franchising to complete and operationalize these hospitals,” he stated.

President Mahama stated that the health sector was facing major challenges that threatened the foundation of the healthcare system.

He noted that the Ministry of Health has accumulated liabilities of nearly GH¢15 billion, including co-financing obligations, judgment debts, and payments for medical commodities at the ports.

The President said that the last significant hospital equipment replacement programme was carried out in 2014 during his presidency.

Since then, much of the equipment in Ghana Health Service facilities had either deteriorated or broken down, he said.

Source: GNA