Former Presidential Advisor on Health under the Akufo-Addo administration, Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, has emphasised the responsibility of the current government to ensure that hospitals under the Agenda 111 project become fully operational.

In an interview on JoyNews' The Pulse on Tuesday, March 4, Dr Nsiah-Asare urged the current administration to prioritise finding resources to ensure that the commissioned Agenda 111 hospitals are made operational as soon as possible.

• Read also: Civil works on commissioned Agenda 111 projects uncompleted – Health Minister

His comment comes after the Health Minister, Kwanena Mintah Akandoh, stated that civil works on three of the Agenda 111 health projects commissioned under the Akufo-Addo government are yet to be completed as they are below 95 percent.

Citing past examples, Dr. Nsiah-Asare noted that hospital commissioning and operationalisation are two distinct processes.

Read also: Not a single Agenda 111 project is operational – Mahama

“For instance, Ridge Hospital was commissioned, but it was not operational when we assumed office. We had to make it functional in 2017. Similarly, the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) was commissioned, but it only became operational during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when we utilised its intensive care unit,” he explained.

According to Dr. Nsiah-Asare, a hospital that is at least 90-95% complete can still be commissioned while necessary equipment and facilities are gradually installed to make sections of it functional.

“The Outpatient Department (OPD) and laboratories, for instance, can start operating while other departments are being completed....That's exactly what has happened, so it is incumbent on them as a sitting government to find resources and make it operational."