President Akufu-Addo, on Thursday, August 15, 2024 commissioned the Upper East Regional Hospital after years of efforts to rehabilitate the premier health facility in the region.
The entire rehabilitation work which covered phase 2 and 3 cost 52 million dollars
This has seen the facility get a ultramodern kitchen, central sterile supply department, hospital walk way, roads, drains, a new mortuary, waste disposal system, doctors bungalows, supply and installation of medical equipment.
Speaking at a ceremony held to commission the facility, the president notes that access is a fundamental human right of every citizen with the facility reinforcing the government’s desire to improve healthcare across the country.
“Access to quality health care is in my view a fundamental right of every citizen and it is the responsibility of government to ensure that the exercise of this right is not just theoretical but more importantly practical. This new hospital reinforces the government’s devotion to this cause,” the president said.
He described the facility as an excellent model facility made possible by a concessionary loan from the Saudi Fund for Development.
“Today the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital stands as an excellent model facility offering a wide range of health care services to the people of the Upper East Region.
This transformation was made possible by a 20 million United States dollar concessional loan from the Saudi fund for development which supported the second and third phases of the project”.
Rehabilitation and expansion of the referral facility meant to serve the critical health needs of the entire region’s population was initiated in 1999 with the securing of funding from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA).
When the Kufour government came into office after the 2000 elections, it secured additional funding for phase one of the project to take off.
The first phase was completed and by 2008, the government had secured another funding for phase two of the rehabilitation.
However, the project did not take off under the Mills administration and work only resumed in 2014 under the Mahama government.
It was, however, not completed before the Mahama government left office although substantial amount of work was done.
The project continued under the current administration though at a slow pace and has since been completed.
