MTN Ghana has donated 3,888 hospital beds and accessories to seven public health facilities across the country, exceeding its initial target of 3,000 beds under this year’s 21 Days of Y’ello Care initiative to help address the country’s persistent “No Bed Syndrome.”
The donation, which forms part of activities marking the company’s 30th anniversary in Ghana, includes refurbished hospital beds, ward screens, drip stands, metallic cabinets, three-in-one patient chairs and other essential equipment to help strengthen healthcare delivery and improve patient care.
The beneficiary institutions are Achimota Hospital, Mamprobi General Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital, Eastern Regional Hospital, Ho Teaching Hospital and Tamale Teaching Hospital.
The initiative also extended beyond hospitals, with MTN installing 30 handwashing facilities in 16 schools across all regions, organising community health outreaches, training community health champions, and supporting patients who were unable to settle their medical bills.
The intervention formed part of efforts to improve access to health care, promote preventive health practices and support health facilities facing increasing pressure from growing patient numbers.
Supporting communities
At the handover ceremony at Achimota Hospital yesterday, the Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer of MTN Ghana, Adwoa Wiafe, said the initiative reflected the company’s commitment to ensuring that its investments translated into meaningful improvements in the lives of Ghanaians.
She said health care had remained one of the key priorities of the MTN Ghana Foundation, which had undertaken more than 50 health projects across the country.
She said the company also provided water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) support to 16 schools across the 16 regions by installing 30 handwashing facilities and reaching more than 15,000 pupils with hygiene education.
She added that MTN organised health outreaches in 16 communities, reaching more than 1,400 people, while over 50 health champions were trained to sustain community health education.
Employee commitment
Ms Wiafe expressed appreciation to the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service, the Ghana Education Service and other partners for supporting the initiative.
She said 78 per cent of MTN employees voluntarily participated in the programme.
“This is not some instruction that we gave. This is a culture that we are building, and we are proud of our employees,” she said.
She expressed the hope that the donated beds would support patients through recovery, ease the work of healthcare professionals and restore dignity to those receiving treatment.
For her part, the Medical Superintendent of Achimota Hospital, Dr Jackline Anita Sowah, described the donation as timely, saying it would significantly improve patient comfort, strengthen service delivery and help reduce pressure on the hospital’s resources.
She said Achimota Hospital recorded 113,670 outpatient visits, representing a three per cent increase over the previous year, while inpatient attendance also increased by three per cent to 5,931 admissions.
The hospital also conducted 1,593 deliveries, representing a seven per cent increase, provided child welfare services to more than 20,000 children and continues to run specialist clinics, including sickle cell, haematology, asthma and urology services.
Dr Sowah appealed to development partners, corporate organisations and philanthropists to support the hospital in establishing an intensive care unit, expanding its theatre, improving its VIP ward, procuring additional anaesthesia machines and patient monitors, and rehabilitating the deteriorating access road to the facility.
