The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has voiced concerns over delays in completing major health facilities in the Ashanti Region, which they say contribute to the ongoing congestion and pressure on the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. This hospital currently serves as a referral facility for 12 regions.
The GMA highlighted the 500-bed Afari Military Hospital and the 250-bed Sewua Hospital as key projects that, once completed, would help alleviate the strain on Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. The association criticized the government for prioritizing the construction of Agenda 111 hospitals while Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital continues to struggle, despite fundraising initiatives by Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to renovate the facility.
Ashanti Regional President of the GMA, Dr. Paa Kwesi Baidoo, suggested that resources allocated to the Agenda 111 hospital projects could have been better used to upgrade Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. He made these comments during a meeting with Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party’s flagbearer, as part of Dr. Bawumia’s tour of the Ashanti Region.
Dr. Baidoo proposed to Dr. Bawumia, “Out of the 50 Agenda 111 hospital projects, why don’t we build 40 hospitals and dedicate the resources meant for the other 10 to retool Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital to clear up the mess and make it efficient?”
In response, Dr. Bawumia acknowledged the congestion issue at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and assured that the Afari and Sewua hospitals would be completed soon. “With the overcrowding that we are seeing at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, I agree with the suggestion to dedicate resources to retooling the hospital. And with particular reference to the two hospitals that are almost done, Sewua, which is a regional hospital, and Afari, which is a military hospital, we expect Sewua to be commissioned hopefully by July [2024] and Afari in August [2024] as well,” he said.
