Parliament on Tuesday approved a facility agreement amounting to fifty six million, one hundred and fifty-three thousand, five hundred euros (€56,153,500.000) from Deutsche Bank AG and Global Services (UK) Limited for the construction of health facilities in parts of the country.

These include the construction of Trauma Hospitals in Obuasi in the Ashanti Region and Anyinam in the Eastern, an Accident and Emergency Centre at Enyiresi Hospital and the rehabilitation of Obuasi Health Centre in accordance with Article 181 of the 1992 Constitution.

The project which forms part of the approved list of priority projects for implementation captured in the 2020 Budget and Financial Policy Statement of the country is expected to be completed within three years after commencement with additional three hundred and fifty six (356) days Defect Notification Period (DNP).

The facility agreement between the Ghana and the lending Bank Deutsche Bank AG with TMF Global Services of the United Kingdom as the facility arranger to finance the projects was presented to the House on Wednesday July 1, 2020 by Charles Adu Boahen, a Deputy Minister of Finance on behalf of the substantive Minister Ken Ofori and referred to the Finance Committee for consideration and report.

Chairman of the Committee Mark Assibey-Yeboah submitting the Committee’s Report in Parliament on Tuesday said the country is committed to ensuring the provision of health infrastructure to ensure quality health services delivery and also to promote universal access to health care services nationwide.

He said the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has enhanced financial access to healthcare services with increasing utilization of Out-Patient-Department services nationwide, yet the development of health infrastructure has not kept pace with the continuous increase in demand for OPD services in all regions of the country.

According to the Committee Chairman, the demand and government spending on healthcare and other infrastructure are growing at a pace which are likely to be unsustainable unless new funding sources are found and managerial strategies for improving quality assurance are marched with corresponding expansion and improvement in health infrastructure

He said the object of the loan is to finance the construction of the required infrastructure and the provision of medical equipment and ancillary services to ensure that the beneficiary hospitals are fully operational and befitting their status to provide the enabling condition for attracting the needed healthcare professionals.

Mark Assibey-Yeboah added the Committee observed that Obuasi in Ashanti Region and Anyinam in the Eastern Region presently do not have any major government hospitals while the existing Obuasi Health Centre is presently ill-equipped and inadequate to meet the health needs of the burgeoning population of the catchment area.

The Committee, he said, was also informed that the Enyiresi Hospital though strategically located along the Accra-Kumasi highway does not have a modern Accident or Emergency Centre, hence the project is intended to provide the required infrastructure, medical equipment, ancillary facilities and services to ensure that the beneficiary hospitals are fully operational and befitting the status of modern hospitals with emphasis on trauma.

The Chairman on recommendations of the Committee respectfully moved the motion for the House to adopt the report and approve the resolution in recognition of the immense healthcare and other socio-economic benefits to be derived from the project and was seconded by a Deputy Finance Minister Abena Osei.