The World Bank has formally urged the Government of Ghana to complete outstanding obligations and open the Weija Paediatric Hospital, a 120-bed children’s facility built under a World Bank project at a cost of $10.15 million that remains unoperational despite having been equipped and completed.
In a communication reviewed by this reporter, the World Bank confirmed that the hospital was constructed and equipped under the COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Project (P173788), which closed on December 16, 2025, following a six-month extension granted to allow the completion of key activities for which the Government had not released International Development Association (IDA) spending.
The World Bank disclosed that at project closure, several activities at the Weija facility remained incomplete, including the installation of certain equipment and the implementation of selected safety measures required under the Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework for health facilities. The Bank added that the Government has until June 16, 2026 to use undisbursed IDA funds to settle outstanding obligations for IDA-eligible activities.
Critically, the communication made clear that the Government is now responsible for providing its own resources to complete the outstanding environmental and social safeguard obligations and to settle any liabilities incurred for expenditures that were deemed ineligible for IDA financing. The facility cannot be declared fully operational until those conditions are met and staff are assigned.
“We sincerely regret that the World Bank has had to take this decision,” Awerco, the contractor on the project, stated in a separately verified response, adding that it remained confident the Government would take corrective measures.
The broader dispute centres on a misprocurement finding. Ghana’s Ministry of Health confirmed in a May 5 statement that the World Bank raised concerns in 2024 about procurement irregularities, including claims that the cost of certain medical equipment had been inflated by up to 11 times its actual market value. The World Bank’s response to those findings was to decline to settle all outstanding project payments.
Awerco contested the misprocurement characterisation, describing the allegations as unfounded and stating that the World Bank’s concerns were never formally communicated to the company. The contractor subsequently refused to grant access to the hospital until all financial disputes are resolved, although it facilitated a Ministry and Ghana Health Service site visit on March 27, 2026. The Ministry confirmed it has yet to formally receive the facility.
A community protest on May 5, 2026, at the hospital gates drew public attention to the impasse. The facility, designed to be among the largest specialist children’s hospitals in Ghana, includes neonatal and paediatric intensive care units, a 100-bed ward, a mother’s hostel and emergency services.
The World Bank said procurement review findings are not publicly disclosed but noted that third parties may seek information through national channels in Ghana or submit formal disclosure requests through the Bank’s access-to-information portal.
