Agenda 111 Hospitals Ready for Operation, Says Dr Nsiah-Asare; Urges Government to Act

Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, the former Presidential Advisor on Health, has pushed back against claims that the previous administration neglected existing health facilities in favour of the Agenda 111 hospital programme, arguing that many of the newly built hospitals are fully equipped and ready to begin operations.

Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Wednesday, Dr Nsiah-Asare called on the current government to recruit health workers and operationalise the completed facilities, insisting the infrastructure is already in place and waiting to serve the public.

A Contested Legacy

The Agenda 111 initiative, launched under the previous administration, was one of the most ambitious healthcare infrastructure projects in Ghana’s history. The programme aimed to build district hospitals in underserved areas, regional hospitals in newly created regions, and specialised psychiatric facilities to improve healthcare access nationwide.

Dr Nsiah-Asare defended the financing model, noting that the programme was funded through a combination of COVID-19 funds and petroleum revenues allocated through the Annual Budget Funding Amount, rather than through borrowing.

His comments come amid renewed scrutiny of the project. The Health Committee Chair has accused the previous government of prioritising Agenda 111 over critical projects such as the Afari Military Hospital and the Sewua Regional Hospital, which remain incomplete.

Hospitals Waiting for Staff

Dr Nsiah-Asare argued that the criticism misses the point. “Some Agenda 111 hospitals have already been completed and commissioned, with medical equipment installed and facilities awaiting operationalisation,” he said. “The hospitals are there. The equipment has been installed and tested. If the government says there are over 100,000 health workers yet to be employed, then they should recruit some of them and operationalise these facilities.”

The argument highlights a familiar tension in Ghana’s healthcare development: the gap between infrastructure delivery and service provision. Building hospitals is only half the challenge; staffing them with qualified professionals, stocking them with essential medicines, and integrating them into the national health system require sustained investment and political will.

The Road Ahead

Dr Nsiah-Asare maintained that Agenda 111 remains one of the most significant healthcare infrastructure projects ever undertaken in the country and said the focus should now shift to ensuring completed hospitals become fully functional.

The debate over Agenda 111 is far from settled. Critics will continue to question whether the project represented a genuine strategic vision or an exercise in political branding. But for the communities that stand to benefit from new hospital facilities, the question is simpler: when will the doors open?

With completed hospitals gathering dust and thousands of unemployed health professionals seeking work, the answer lies not in further debate but in decisive government action to bridge the gap between construction and care.

Image Source: MYJOYONLINE