Czech-funded health facility inaugurated at Kpone

The President of Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, assisted by the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has inaugurated a 40-bed district hospital in Kpone in the Greater Accra Region. 

The opening of the Czech-funded health facility last Wednesday is expected to improve the healthcare delivery needs of the people of Kpone.

Present at the ceremony were the Paramount Chief of the Kpone Traditional Area, Nii Tetteh Otu II; the Chief of Nmlitsakpo, Nii Tetteh Oglie II; the Chief of Katamanso, Tatse Nii Laryea Akuetteh X; the MP for Kpone Katamanso, Joseph Akuerteh Tetteh, officials of the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service and the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council.

The initiative was made possible through funding of €71.5 million, secured from Erste Group Bank AG and Česká Spořitelna a.s., with an export credit guarantee of €8.6 million from EGAP, the Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation of the Czech Republic.

The construction was executed by VAMED Health Projects CZ s.r.o and part of a broader initiative launched in 2020 by the Ministry of Health to build 12 new health facilities.

The 12 beneficiary communities are: Jumapo, Nkwatia, Kwabeng, Achiase and Adukrom in the Eastern Region; Suame, Drobonso, Sabronum, Manso Nkwanta and Twedie in the Ashanti Region; and Mim in the Ahafo Region.

Five hospitals in the Eastern Region have already been handed over, while the remaining facilities in the Ashanti and Ahafo regions, which have all been completed, are expected to be handed over soon.

The Kpone Municipal Hospital is an equipped modern facility with an outpatient department, a public health wing, a surgical suite including an operating theatre, recovery ward, and sterilisation unit; a delivery unit and neonatal intensive care unit; a laboratory, pharmacy, and X-ray unit; 40-bed inpatient wards for males, females and paediatric cases; a services block with laundry, stores and a cold room, as well as staff offices and on-site accommodation.

The project also includes the supply and installation of modern medical equipment, a one-year post-completion warranty and maintenance plan, and a staff training component to build the capacity of healthcare workers for optimal service delivery.

Universal good

President Pavel expressed his excitement at the inauguration of the health facility, stressing that he could not imagine anything more universally good than opening a hospital that would serve people in need.

Front view of the Kpone Municipal Hospital

He urged the staff of the facility to work hard and offer persons who would be visiting the facility the best of care.

The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, said the Kpone Municipal Hospital was one of 12 hospitals constructed and equipped under the previous government and a continuation of President Mahama’s first term initiative of increasing access to quality health care.

He said the John Mahama government was committed to completing and operationalising all hospital projects across the country, adding that he did not believe in inaugurating hospitals, only to lock them up or worse, abandon projects started by previous governments in order to score cheap political points.

“Our vision is to operationalise all inaugurated hospitals to allow all communities to enjoy equitable access to quality health care,” he said.

He said in addition to the brick and mortar work of constructing hospitals, the government was introducing the free primary healthcare initiative to ensure that barriers such as financing were removed, so no one is deprived of the care they deserve.

“These investments demonstrate our government’s commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and advancing Universal Health Coverage.

We remain focused on bringing essential primary healthcare services closer to individuals and families across the country — an agenda that will be sustained well beyond 2025. 

“Hospitals are not merely infrastructure; they are life-saving assets that will improve geographical access to care and contribute to reducing maternal and child morbidity and mortality,” he said. 

Mortality

Mr Akandoh said Ghana had made significant progress in health outcomes, with maternal mortality reducing from 580 per 100,000 live births in 2007 to 310 per 100,000 live births in 2017.

Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Minister of Health, and other officials touring the facility. Picture: Benjamin Xornam Glover

He said similarly, under-five mortality had improved from 111 per 1,000 live births in 2003 to 56 per 1,000 live births in 2017, yet much remains to be done.

“This government remains steadfast in its efforts to expand access, improve quality, and reduce inequities in health service delivery,” he said. 

Benefits

The acting Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Professor Samuel Kaba Akuriya, said the new facility would help alleviate the pains of many in critical defining moments, adding that it would save lives, especially in emergency situations.

He said it would also serve as a point of first aid in times of disasters, whether man-made or natural and also serve as a source of employment, not only for the skilled medical labour but also the unskilled who will help its maintenance as cleaners, security, not to talk of the new businesses it will create around the immediate surroundings of the facility.

The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Obenewaa Akweley Ocloo, in her welcome address, said the inauguration of the facility marked a significant milestone, not only for the people of Kpone, but would add to the facilities in the region.

Writer’s email: Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh