Founder and President of IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, Franklin Cudjoe, is soliciting Ghanaians’ prayers for the President in order to secure funds to execute the Agenda 111 project.
The Agenda 111 initiative, inaugurated by President Akufo-Addo on August 17, 2021, aims to among other things, construct a total of 111 district hospitals throughout the country to improve access to healthcare.
Most of the facilities are targeted at improving healthcare in rural areas. The project is expected to be completed by 2025, coinciding with the end of President Akufo-Addo’s second term.
As of October 2023, the government had announced that over 89 hospitals have reached an average of 52% completion.
Meanwhile, with barely seven months to the end of the President’s term of office, not even 15 of the 111 hospitals have been fully completed.
Mr. Cudjoe is therefore urging the President to ensure that he at least complete 15 of these projects fully before leaving office.
Baring the economic conditions however, the IMANI boss thinks it requires only a miracle for the President to secure US$1.5billion to complete 15 of the hospitals.
Franklin Cudjoe, in a Facebook post, was reacting to a story in the media about the Urology and Nephrology Centre of Excellence at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to be commissioned by the President. It was his view that the President concentrates on more pertinent things such as securing funds to complete some of the Agenda 111 project than commissioning units in an already existing hospital. He said such could be handled by the Minister of Health.
“Health Minister should do the commissioning. Nana should focus on completing, PROPERLY, 15 out of the 111 District hospitals before he ends his tenure. He needs $1.5bn to achieve 70% of Agenda 111. Pray for him because unless magic or lottery, that money in this tight economy will be difficult to find. Which is why what ever he has now, should be used in completing 15 to 20 of these hospitals PROPERLY instead of spreading thinly on all 111 and leave them looking like the ungodly and ugly Cathedral site,” portions of his post indicated.
