100-bed infectious disease facility to be commissioned on July 17

Ghana’s first infectious disease isolation and treatment centre is set to open its doors to receive its first patients by the end of this month.

After opening, the facility will be used to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients. When the pandemic is over, it will be used as a centre of excellence for treatment and research into some of the most infectious diseases prevalent in Ghana.

The facility, construction of which has been promoted and funded by the Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund with support from corporate organisations and some individuals, is currently “90 per cent completed,” according to the project managers, and should be handed over to its sponsor on July 17.

Over the weekend, Trustees of the Fund inspected the progress of work on the facility, after which they unanimously expressed satisfaction and fulfilment with what has been achieved within a very short space of time.

One of the Trustees, Tony Oteng-Gyasi, CEO of Tropical Cable and Conductor Limited, couldn’t hide his joy at the “incredible work” done by the project management team to bring the Trustees’ dream to fruition.

“Two weeks ago, we were here and it was 75% completed. Today it is 90% completed and they have assured us that by the 17th of July they will be ready to hand over,” he said. “It is incredible that we started this project on 15th April and in three months exactly it is ready for use. It is a manifestation that Ghanaians can achieve things for our own country and for ourselves.”

He called for more support to ensure that similar facilities are constructed in the Ashanti, Northern and Western Regions.

Another Trusteee, Edward Effah, Chairman of Fidelity Bank, said he is delighted at the “remarkable and miraculous” achievement of the Private Sector Fund in spearheading the construction of Ghana’s first infectious disease treatment and isolation facility, which will have its own ICU, laboratory and morgue.

“It’s remarkable, it’s miraculous that we’ve been able to achieve this in 10 weeks,” Mr. Effah says. “We are very proud and we feel very fulfilled and we are looking forward to building the second one in Kumasi and hopefully a third and a fourth so that Ghana would have eventually a CDC of its own, looking after and managing infectious diseases. And, hopefully, given the current spread of Covid-19, I’m confident that this will contribute significantly towards our fight towards defeating the pandemic.”

Project Manager, Lt. Col. Albert Tekyi took the Trustee on the tour of the project. Those on the tour included Tony Oteng-Gyasi, CEO of Tropical Cable and Conductor Ltd, Edward Effah, Chairman of Fidelity Bank, Kwaku Bediako, Chairman of CH Group, Managing Trustee, Senyo Hosi, CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors.