Dr Fred Adomako-Boateng, Ashanti Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), has made a strong case for the expansion or relocation of the region’s medical store, citing severe congestion and its inability to meet growing healthcare demands.

Speaking at the Ashanti Regional Health Sector Performance Review meeting in Kumasi, Dr Adomako-Boateng said the existing Regional Medical Store, constructed in 1978, had outlived its usefulness and could no longer serve the needs of the rapidly expanding health sector.

He explained that at the time the facility was built, Ghana’s population was about 8.5 million, with the Ashanti Region recording approximately 1.37 million people, based on the 1978 census.

“Many of the health facilities we see today were not in existence then.

Currently, the number of facilities has increased significantly, but the same medical store continues to serve the entire region,” he said.

According to him, the growing demand for medical supplies, coupled with the expansion of healthcare infrastructure, had placed enormous pressure on the warehouse, leading to congestion and inefficiencies in service delivery.

Dr Adomako-Boateng noted that the situation posed a challenge to quality healthcare delivery and called for urgent intervention to either expand the existing facility or construct a new one.

He appealed to the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council and other stakeholders to prioritise the issue, stressing that an improved storage and distribution system was critical to ensuring the availability of essential medicines and health commodities across the region.

The Regional Director urged members of the Regional Health Management Committee and stakeholders to visit the facility to appreciate the extent of congestion and the operational difficulties faced by staff.

He emphasised that addressing the infrastructure gap would be key to achieving efficient healthcare delivery and improving patient outcomes.

The review meeting was held on the theme: “Free Primary Health Care: Closing the Equity Gaps and Accelerating Universal Health Coverage.”