MTN, Ghana’s leading telecommunication company has handed over a state-of-the-art maternity and child health facility to the Keta Municipal Hospital
MTN, Ghana’s leading telecommunication company has handed over a state-of-the-art maternity and child health facility to the Keta Municipal Hospital worth about 19million Ghana Cedis.
The project which is funded by the MTN Ghana Foundation is a 60-bed capacity consisting of a 40-bed maternity ward – made up of emergency rooms, a first stage ward and a delivery ward. There are also recovery rooms and a lie-in ward.
There is also a 20- bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) fully equipped with incubators and ventilators.
Others are two operating theatres, a 20-bed hostel for mothers, two consulting rooms and offices for nurses, a reception and outpatient department areas. It also has a laboratory, dispensary, a scrub and sluice room, an Anesthetics room and an Intensive Care (IC) Ward.
That’s not all. There is also a restroom for doctors and nurses, staff eatery, storage and washrooms, a ramp, an electrical and power room, a head of department’s office, gas tanks, waste Bins and utility rooms.
Maternity Project
Speaking at the commissioning in Keta last Thursday, March 7, 2024, the CEO of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh who is also a son of the Anlo State where Keta is located said, the facility marks a fulfilment of a pledge made during the 25th anniversary; thus “a reflection of our continuing commitment to shared value in the communities in which we operate.”
He observed that the facility will be MTN Ghana Foundation’s third, and by far the largest, of the maternity block projects it had ever completed in Ghana. The Foundation which focuses on Education, Health and Economic Empowerment embarked on the project with the aim of making a tangible impact on the lives of the people of the Volta Region, especially women and children in the Keta community and the surrounding townships.
Facility Impact
Consequently, the new facility is a huge improvement on the old facility, which had only 20 wards to cater for over 3,000 maternity and 684 NICU admissions annually. A situation which had several patients having to endure inadequate and discomforting conditions to get through their pregnancy.
Hence, the MTN Ghana CEO was optimistic that the project would help reduce Ghana’s neonatal mortality from the dire 22.8 deaths in every 1000 live births to near 12 deaths per 1000 live births as set by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Also reduce maternal mortality from Ghana’s dire 263 per 1000 births to near the SDG target of 70.
Recounting the role of health infrastructure and health personnel in providing quality health care he stressed that “We expect and know that the facility will provide a safe and comfortable environment for mothers to give birth and receive postnatal care.”
He commended the Awoemefia of the Anlo State Torgbui Sri III, the management and staff of the Keta Municipal Hospital, led by Dr. Kofi Karikari Bonsu, the Medical Superintendent and people of Keta for the unflinching support during the project construction.
Ho Teaching Hospital Project
He also announced that MTN Ghana Foundation which has three pillars Healthcare, Education and Economic Empowerment has approved a project for the expansion of the accident and emergency block of the Ho Teaching Hospital. Work is expected to commence in June of 2024. These projects are a result of a research analysis that indicated that the Foundation had not done any project in the Volta Region for several years.
Prior to this recent development the Foundation had renovated the general OPD and maternity ward of the Kpedze Health Centre and constructed a pipeline to provide potable water for Kpeve Tongu community.
In the area of education, the Foundation has constructed a three-unit classroom block for the Akatsi D/A Basic School, and a 50-seater capacity library for Tsito Senior High School. There is also a 30-seater ICT center and library for the Ablove/Nolope community; all in the Volta Region.
Health Training Hub
The Volta Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Kubio Chrysantus commended MTN Ghana Foundation for making history by providing the largest health project in the Volta Region by any corporate entity.
The investment, he said, will attract and retain highly skilled professionals and reduce maternal and neonatal death in Keta and the many surrounding communities. It will also serve as a hub for the training of newly qualified doctors in gynaecology and surgery with the hope of positioning the Keta Municipal Hospital as a centre for training in Medicine and Paediatric discipline in the near future.
Mr. Emmanuel Kona, the Municipal Health Director recounted that despite being a referral facility; health workers worked under difficult conditions in the previous facility which had only 20 beds against hundreds of clients who received care there. In some instances, they had to nurse mothers and babies on the floor; he revealed. He therefore thanked MTN Ghana for giving them hope and making their dream a reality.
The Awoemefia in a brief remark commended MTN Ghana Foundation for the kind gesture. He commended the staff and management of the Hospital for their continued provision of quality health care and advised them and the residents to take good care of the facility to ensure it remains in pristine condition at all times.
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