Source: Nana Anfreh DAMANATA
The Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, the Most Reverend Prof. Asamoah- Gyadu in collaboration with the Municipal Chief Executive for Wenchi, Hon Gloria Opoku Gyamfi and the Paramount Queenmother of Wenchi Traditional Area, Nana Afoa Pokuaa Dankoto II through the Wenchi Diocese, has officially commissioned and dedicated a new 80-bed Orthopedic Center at Wenchi in the Bono region.
It is called the Obaapanin Abena Henewaa (Tiakaa) Orthopaedic Centre at the Wenchi Methodist Hospital in the Bono Region.
The ceremony forms part of the Presiding Bishop’s official visit, led by the Most Rev. Prof. Johnson K. Asamoah-Gyadu. He emphasized the Church’s commitment to advancing quality healthcare delivery across the country.
The commissioning ceremony was held on Friday, April 17, 2026. It brought together clergy, healthcare professionals, traditional authorities, leaders, and residents from far and near.
The project is funded by a German Government Ghana Community Niederbayern, led by Nana Nana Kwame Busia, a native of Wenchi who is based in Germany in collaboration with the Methodist Church Ghana.
The facility was named after the late mother of Nana Kwame Busia, Obaapanin Abena Henewaa (Tiakaa).
In his welcome address the Chief Executive Officer of the Wenchi Methodist Hospital, Nana Alexander Kwaku Kyei explained that the 80- bed orthopedic center, worth 630,000 euros is designed for specialized care for the people of Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, Ashanti, Western North regions and the five northern regions as well as the neighboring countries such as Cote D’Ivoire, Mali, and Burkina Faso.
The facility includes specialized inpatient areas separating patients by gender (male/female wards), and age (children wards) alongside private wards
Other facilities includes nursing and specialized doctors training center, and resting space for the relatives of patients and caretakers. It also has the presence of lifting machine for patients’ safety, reducing caregiver strain, and improving patient mobility during transfers and many more.
The Most Reverend Prof. Johnson Asamoah- Gyadu, the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana in an interview with the media after the commissioning ceremony reiterated that the initiative underscores the Church’s continued investment in health infrastructure, aimed at improving access to critical services and promoting holistic well-being within communities.
The Municipal Chief Executive for Wenchi, Hon Gloria Opoku Gyamfi commended Nana Kwame Busia for his contribution towards health infrastructural development projects in the Wenchi Municipality.
The commissioning of this center aligns perfectly with the Government’s commitment to strengthening Ghana’s healthcare delivery system, she said.
The MCE revealed that under the leadership of His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama and the NDC government they are prioritizing policies that ensure equitable access to healthcare for all Ghanaians key among these is the expansion of specialized healthcare services across the regions, reducing the burden on major referral hospitals and bringing quality care closer to the people.
She added that government continues to implement and strengthen the NHIA to make healthcare affordable and accessible to all.
Facilities such as this will complement NHIS by ensuring that insured patients receive specialized services without unnecessary delays or referrals, she noted.
She seized the opportunity to highlight on the primary health care policy launched by the President of the Republic, to support the National Health Insurance Scheme.
Hon Gloria Opoku Gyamfi emphasized that this bold and transformative initiative aimed at removing financial barriers to basic healthcare at the community level.
This policy will ensure that essential primary healthcare services are accessible to all Ghanaians, particularly the vulnerable and those in rural communities she said.
Hon Gloria Opoku Gyamfi further explained that under the primary healthcare services every Ghanaian is entitled to one basic health screening annually and access to this service at the health posts, CHPs compounds, Health centers and polyclinics will only require one to present his or her Ghana ID card or any ID card which proves your Ghanaian identity.
The Paramount Queenmother of Wenchi Traditional Area who graced the event as the Guest of Honor, commended the Methodist Church Ghana for their contributions towards the educational and healthcare development in Wenchi. She urged other religious bodies in the area to emulate Methodist Church Ghana to help bring other developmental projects to the area.
An orthopedic Surgeon at the Wenchi Methodist hospital, Dr. Sibiri Ballu told media that the modern facility will significantly improve the treatment of fractures, trauma injuries, and other orthopedic conditions.
For a decade, the existing orthopedic ward at Wenchi Methodist hospital faced serious overcrowding, leaving many patients without access to timely health care.
Nana Kwame Busia urged management and leaders at Wenchi Methodist hospital to cultivate the maintenance culture to help prolong the lifespan of the facility.
