The government has established a deadline of March 2024 for the completion and commencement of operations at the 500-bed Afari Military Hospital in the Ashanti Region, marking a significant milestone as contractors resume work following a renewed financial commitment from the government.
The successful conclusion of the 500-bed Afari Military Hospital project will help ease the burden on the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), a crucial referral facility in the Ashanti Region.
The region’s residents have consistently urged the government to expedite the operationalization of this vital healthcare facility.
Work on the hospital faced a temporary halt due to financial constraints, despite the project being nearly 90 percent ready, with key facilities such as the Out-Patient-Departments and other theaters prepared for use.
Presidential Adviser on health, Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare, expressed confidence that the project would be finalized and open to the public by March 2024.
During a recent visit to the project site on December 4, 2023, he explained, “The project was stopped for some time because of clearing some financial issues between the Ministry of Finance, Defense, and the Contractor. Thank God we have been able to solve that, and the Contractor has been resourced to move to the site. Afari hospital, by the first quarter of next year, God willing, nobody will talk about Afari hospital again. When you are moving here, you are moving here for quality healthcare. The progress of work we have seen for the past one week, I am very certain by March this hospital will be finished.”
Contractors are currently clearing the site to resume full operations, addressing overgrown weeds resulting from the halted work. The Project Resident Engineer, Ahmed Abu Shamaa, mentioned that major equipment is ready for installation.
Abraham Dwomoh Odoom, the Country Manager for Euroget de-Invest, affirmed the government’s financial commitment to ensure the project’s completion, expressing gratitude to the Ministries of Finance, Defence, and Health for addressing funding issues.
Dr. Nsiah Asare further revealed that the government plans to commission ongoing health facilities in the Ashanti Region in 2024.
The hospital comprises 50 medical and non-medical buildings, 15 operating theatres, two endoscopy operating rooms, nine delivery rooms, a 157-body capacity mortuary, 64 staff housing units, a medical gas plant for the production of medical gases, and a sterilization department.