News:
May 28, 2026
Dr. Ayew Afriye has called on the government to operationalize the Waija Children’s Hospital without further delay, arguing that the facility’s continued idleness is denying local communities critical healthcare access and thousands of young Ghanaians much-needed employment opportunities.
Speaking at a press briefing in Parliament Thursday, Dr. Afriye, a former Deputy Minister of Health, declared that “there is no further reason for delays in operating that hospital.” He pointed to the urgent demand for pediatric services in the Waija catchment area, as well as the rising ranks of unemployed youth, nurses, and laboratory physicians who could be deployed at the facility.
“We have a completed, equipped hospital sitting empty while people suffer,” he said. “The excuses have run out.”
The Waija Children’s Hospital was originally conceived as a 40‑bed unit, but under the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, it was upgraded to a 120‑bed specialist facility. According to Dr. Afriye, the expansion was funded through post‑COVID allocations from the World Bank under the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) financing facility – specifically the Ghana COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Project.
That upgrade included the installation of a 128‑slice CT scanner and a power gas system, equipment that Dr. Afriye said was procured and installed by the contractor with the facility now “completely ready for use.”
Procurement Process Fully Approved, He Says
Dr. Afriye strongly rejected claims that procurement irregularities under the previous administration were to blame for the delay. He explained that every stage of the upgrade and equipment purchase was reviewed and approved by both the World Bank and Ghana’s Public Procurement Authority (PPA).
However, he acknowledged that the World Bank later raised concerns about the pricing of the CT scan. “But when we asked for an alternative quote to show us what the correct price should have been, they failed to provide one,” Dr. Afriye said.
He stressed that verbal allegations of overpricing are not sufficient. “If you attack procurement which has gone to the PPA and been approved, you are attacking the procurement authority of this country,” he told reporters. “Overpriced is not supposed to be verbal. Bring evidence to it.”
The health policy expert blamed “flimsy excuses of over‑ or misprocurement” for the ongoing stalemate, insisting that Ghanaians are not interested in bureaucratic finger‑pointing.
“The people of Waija and surrounding districts need this hospital. Unemployed nurses and lab physicians need these jobs,” he said. “The contractor has delivered. The equipment is installed. Open the hospital now.”
The Waija Children’s Hospital remains non‑operational more than six months after construction and equipment installation were completed.
Ghanamps.com