Hundreds of residents of Weija-Gbawe have staged a protest over the prolonged closure of a completed children’s specialist hospital, which they say has remained empty for two years despite being fully equipped and urgently needed.
The 120-bed Weija-Gbawe Children’s Specialist Hospital, built to improve paediatric healthcare in the municipality, has not been commissioned since construction ended. Protesters carried placards reading: “Weija Gbawe deserves healthcare, not delays” and “No excuses, commission the Weija Gbawe children’s hospital.”
“I have entered the hospital before. It has everything in it,” said Kwame Asante, a resident. “I want to plead with the health minister and the government to come and commission this project. We are losing our children.”
He urged leaders to set aside partisan differences, adding: “It is about Weija-Gbawe.”
Hannah, a trained pharmacist, said the closure has also cost jobs. “I have been trained as a pharmacist for all these years, and I am home. If this is opened, I could be employed.”
Another resident, Comfort, recounted a recent emergency: “Two months ago, my sister’s child collapsed, and we drove here only to realise it is still closed. We had to go all the way to Marina Hospital, which is very far.”
She noted that ambulances and all necessary equipment are in place. “It only needs to be commissioned for use.”
The Member of Parliament for Weija-Gbawe, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, said he had not called for the protest but understood the frustration.
“They are here because they are feeling the pinch,” he said, pointing out that many protesters were women directly affected by childcare access challenges.
He described the hospital as highly advanced. “I have been to many facilities of this kind outside the country, and this is far more advanced than many. Why are we making children die, all because we have failed to commission a hospital?”
As of press time, the Ministry of Health had not officially responded to the protest.
