Ghana’s Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has commissioned and handed over an ultra-modern Infectious Diseases Treatment Centre at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.
Originally conceived in 2014 at the height of the Ebola crisis, the 25-bed facility, which also houses a Command Centre to coordinate the activities of isolation centres across the country and a Health Surveillance Unit, was began in April 2019 and completed after 10 months at a cost of Ghs 4.8m.
Addressing the gathering of military, health and government officials on Wednesday, 30th September, 2020, Vice President Bawumia underscored Government’s determination to provide essential logistics and infrastructure to meet the nation’s health needs.
“As you aware, work on this facility began even before the outbreak of the Covid 19 in Ghana. This government has initiated, in less than four years, 843 projects in the health sector, with 475 of them completed, while the rest are ongoing. We have also introduced a lot of initiatives in the health sector, such as the use of drones to deliver essential medical supplies. We now have four drone centres operational, and during this Covid crises, 2,500 samples have been delivered by drones.
“Our commitment to improving access to health care remains unwavering, and with your support, we will have even more time to do more.”
Speaking earlier, the Minister of Defence, Hon Dominic Nitiwul, was confident that the facility would be put to good use, and in the finest traditions of the military, we can be sure that years later, this facility will remain in good shape due to the culture of maintenance.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, who represented the Minister, disclosed that a number of health facilities will be completed this year, including the Bekwai, Fomena and Kumawu hospitals.
“Never in the history of this country has so much resources been invested in health care in such a short time. This is indeed a sure sign of the government’s commitment to ensuring the provision of healthcare for its people,” Dr Okoe Boye stated.
