The Overlord of the Gonja Kingdom, Yagbonwura Bikunuto Jewu Soale I, has released 110 acres of land to the Ministry of Health for the construction of the newly approved Savannah Regional Hospital in Damongo.
Out of the total land, 100 acres will be used for the hospital itself, while the remaining 10 acres will serve as accommodation for health workers.
The gesture followed a courtesy call on the Yagbonwura by the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, who was on a working visit to the Savannah Region.
The minister officially requested land for the project, emphasizing that political leaders do not own land and therefore rely on traditional authorities for such allocations.
Mr. Akandoh, who also serves as the MP for Juaboso, said the visit formed part of a regional tour to inspect health facilities and training institutions as well as engage chiefs for support on the siting of the new regional hospital.
“As part of the NDC’s 2024 campaign promise, we committed to constructing six new regional hospitals in the newly created regions. In the 2026 budget, three of these regions have been captured to begin the first phase, and Savannah Region is one of the beneficiaries,” he said.
Presenting the land on behalf of the Yagbonwura, the Savannah Regional Minister, Salisu Be-Awuribe, announced that all documentation for the 110 acres would be completed within four months and handed fully to the Health Ministry for work to commence.
The Health Minister also visited the Bole Municipal Hospital, where he interacted with health professionals and addressed concerns about the country’s specialist deficit.
He noted that although Ghana receives international requests for nurses, many of the country’s nurses lack specialization, creating a gap that limits opportunities.
“We have realised that other countries are requesting our nurses, but the requests come with specialist requirements. Many of our nurses are not specialists, and that gap must be addressed,” he said.
Mr. Akandoh announced that government will roll out a crash programme in 2026 to train between 1,500 and 2,000 specialist nurses within a year. He emphasized that the accelerated training will not compromise quality but aims to meet both local and global demand.
According to him, the training aligns with government’s plan to expand specialist care through the Mahama Clinics initiative, focusing on non-communicable diseases which require expert handling.
Mr. Akandoh also highlighted the problem of uneven distribution of health workers across the country. He revealed that more than half of Ghana’s medical doctors are concentrated in Accra and its surrounding areas, leaving some districts without a single doctor.
“This year we are posting about 700 medical doctors, and we are closing postings to the cities. We want 80 to 90 percent of junior doctors to go to the districts,” he said.
He added that Savannah Region alone has been allocated 20 doctors, with about 15 already confirming their readiness to report within the week.
To support the postings, he appealed to regional and district leaders to ensure decent accommodation and welfare for the incoming health professionals. He hinted at additional incentives some of which cannot be disclosed publicly to encourage doctors to accept rural postings.
“It will not be fair for all health professionals to remain in the cities while rural communities, which are the backbone of our economy, have none,” he stressed.
