Despite the pressures on global economies, particularly the weaker ones in our part of the world, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo found the resources to make yet another important intervention, providing 10,000 beds for distribution to hospitals across the country, to make our health delivery system more and more resilient.
As evidence of truly living out the governing New Patriotic Party Manifesto on social protection on the ground and in constituencies, the intervention was done under the auspices of the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP).
Major boost
We may also recall that the President had earlier announced another major intervention in the sector with the construction of district hospitals, where there are none, across the entire country in the months ahead, expected to attain an important milestones in health delivery in the country.
This critical intervention comes against the background of a ridiculous manifesto message, of providing mortuaries for our Zongos, the desperate National Democratic Congress, led by the equally desperate flagbearer John Dramani Mahama, has thrown into the political campaign.
The President, in providing evidence that Ghana cannot go back under his tenure, affirmed his commitment in continuing to provide quality health as a basic need not only for urban, advantaged constituencies, but also Zongo, settler and northern communities across the country, as part of his vision to improve lives and livelihoods.
Dignity, comfort and convenience
This week’s gesture of providing 10,000 beds for our hospitals answers the gnawing headache of deficiency in the number of hospital beds inherited from the last John Mahama administration, at the time the no-bed syndrome had become a major challenge in our health care delivery system.
That was the time ‘tro-tros’ were imported as ambulances for hefty sums by the previous government while the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) was also suffering undue stress in capitalizing government health facilities.
The support also comes against the background of tight budget scenarios afflicting most vulnerable economies around the world, with Ghana notably applauded for its tenacious fight in holding out in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The beds, which have been designed with comfort, convenience and versatility as benchmarks, and which are benefitting all the 275 constituencies, are part of ongoing moves to strengthen the sector to deliver on its mandate and also enhance life expectancy among citizens, while improving lives and livelihoods.
Additionally, it is the desire of the President that patients, not dead people, receive some dignity under treatment, instead of going through unnecessary agony during treatment and admission in wards.
‘Ghana First’
We commend the President for the intervention, particularly coming at a time when doctors and nurses have been stressed over a period of four long months, successfully fighting a pandemic that advanced nations and resilient economies find difficult to defeat or contain. We also commend the President for ensuring that the beneficiaries spread across the regions and political constituencies in line with his ‘Ghana First’ agenda of development.
It is our hope that the gesture will help send strong signals to our health workers on the need to continue putting Ghana first as they abundantly exhibited in helping fight the COVID-19 with all the enthusiasm and patriotism at their disposal.
Source: dailystatesman.com.gh/Leader
