Madar (Ouagadougou) - Overall execution of the construction of the regional university hospital (CHUR) in Gaoua, south-western Burkina Faso, stood at 98.52% at the end of October, with commissioning and a possible inauguration envisaged in December 2026, the state-owned daily Sidwaya reported on Thursday, 12 November 2026.
According to the newspaper, Health Minister Dr Robert Lucien Jean-Claude Kargougou visited the site on Tuesday, 10 November, and urged the contractors to step up the pace, double their teams and work around the clock, seven days a week, to reach 100% and allow the facility to open in December.
"I wanted to come to the field myself to see with my own eyes and get a feel for the realities in order to report back," the minister said, expressing satisfaction with progress while stressing that efforts were still needed. He insisted that completion of the works must go hand in hand with installing equipment and actually preparing for patient care.
Graciela Garrigue, project director at Ellipse Projects, said the remaining work mainly involved finishing touches and outdoor landscaping and that the equipment was already installed. Staff training is due to start as soon as the buildings are connected to electricity, which was announced within a week at most after the visit, while asphalting works were announced for the following week.
The site has been the subject of several monitoring visits, including one by Prime Minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo on 21 June 2026, the newspaper noted. The hospital's foundation stone was laid by the head of state, Captain Ibrahim Traore, on 30 November 2023.
