Research Fellow at the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Dr Kwame Sarpong Asiedu says the government is aware many hospitals in Ghana do not have defibrillators.

Quoting the latest demographic and health survey data from the Ghana Statistical Service, the pharmacist said hospitals in Ghana have dysfunctional defibrillators.

Speaking on the back of a just-aired JoyNews documentary, "Sick Hospitals", which details the hopelessness in a number of public health facilities in Ghana when it comes to basic equipment, Dr. Sarpong said statistics in the Harmonised Health Facility Assessment report originate from government entities such as the Ministry of Health, WHO, and the Global Funds.

The documentary shows that the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital in the Western region for instance, has not a single functioning defibrillator.

Defibrillators are medical devices designed to deliver an electric shock to the heart to restore normal heart rhythm during sudden cardiac arrest. Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when the heart's electrical system malfunctions, causing the heart to suddenly stop beating. This can be a life-threatening emergency, and defibrillators play a crucial role in providing immediate intervention.

"We know these things (challenges) are there, but when someone puts them into a documentary, we come and deny them. Authorities deny them because they know Ghanaians are lazy to read the reports they put out," he said on Wednesday.

"That's the biggest problem; they know we won't read. The easiest way to hide anything from Ghanaians is to put it in plain sight because all these things have been documented and published."

Mr. Asiedu further said that the Ghanaian government is well aware that regional hospitals like Nkwanta lack essentials such as defibrillators.

He added that only 10% of hospitals in Ghana have a working fridge to maintain the cold chain. This is information from the report, not just my statement.

"These are the report we all have them, they know that we will not read and even if we will, we will not question them.“