Health minister awed by work on nearly-complete infectious disease centre

Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu has visited the site of Ghana’s first infectious diseases treatment centre and lauded the Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund, for initiating the project and raising the needed funds to bring it to fruition in record time.

Mr. Agyeman-Manu was particularly impressed when he was told that the 100-bed facility, located at the Ga East Municipal Hospital in Accra, could be ready to admit its first patients by the middle of July.

The Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund has been spearheading the construction of the facility in response to the national call for all to join in the national battle bring the Covid-19 crisis under control.

Several organisations and well-meaning individuals have contributed in cash and in kind to the fund since ground was broken for the project to start in the middle of April.

After being briefed on the progress of work so far, the Health Minister said he was proud to have been involved in making land available for the facility.

“The whole thing started from my office, when the private sector people came with what their dream was and their vision and how they wanted to support us,” he said. “I quickly informed the president and he asked me to bring them to see him. We sat down with him and they told the president what they wanted to do. Together we identified this place (the Ga East Hospital) where we can have land without litigation and that already belonged to us. They moved in and this is what I’ve come to see.”

Impressed by the progress of work, the minister said he was looking forward to the facility being put to use soon in the national fight against Covid-19.

“[From] the way they are talking, maybe before the middle of July we may start putting patients here,” he said. “And that is part of the effort to expand capacity for treatment in the country. If it’s adding 100 beds to what we already have, at least we are moving somewhere.”

The Minister was accompanied to the project site by the Director of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye and the Chief Medical Officer of the Ga East Hospital, Dr Oduro Mensah, among others.