Vodafone Ghana’s charitable arm, Vodafone Ghana Foundation has affirmed its passion and commitment to complimenting government’s efforts in enhancing access to health care services.
The telecommunications company hopes to support targets set in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through its pioneering ‘Health’ initiatives including Healthfest, Mobile4Good, Healthline and charitable donations to institutions.
[contextly_sidebar id=”ump0QsG5JZVwxq1HW213IYNuwdPyIYMI”]Established in 2009, the Vodafone Ghana Foundation has invested in creating initiatives that solve pressing health issues, ensure healthy lives and promote the wellbeing of Ghanaians in various communities nationwide.
Commenting on the many ingenious projects, Nana Yaa Ofori-Koree, Head of Vodafone Ghana Foundation said:
“Health is key in building a great nation and family system. Vodafone Ghana Foundation is therefore honoured to support and beef up the health of the ordinary Ghanaian through free medical screening and consultation, interactive mobile applications (apps), and via educative online, radio and TV programmes. We are excited our provision of free and quality healthcare initiatives continue to improve the lives of various communities across the country.’’
Nana Yaa mentioned that Vodafone’s medical call centre ‘Healthline 255’ which receives an average of 400 calls daily continues to offer expert health advice to Ghanaians between 4pm to 10pm. During the Ebola outbreak period, the average number of calls increased to 9,000 daily; a clear indication that Ghanaians rely on this service for health information.
The Foundation in partnership with World Health Organisation (WHO) also launched Africa’s first ‘health worker-to-health worker’ call service on Ebola to train 63 health workers at the medical call centre on Ebola Virus (EVD).
Through Vodafone Ghana’s mobile applications project, Mobile4Good, the foundation has developed a number of innovative apps and tools that are transforming access to healthcare delivery in the country.
In partnership with TinyDavid, an app developer, Vodafone Ghana Foundation launched the SnooCode Ambulance app to offer the National Ambulance Services and other emergency services the access to easily locate victims during an emergency. The app is reducing the response time for emergency service providers irrespective of the hindrances in Ghana’s addressing system.
A major challenge facing the National Blood Service is how to keep blood stock replenished, search, match, and conveniently contact inspired donors. “Thankfully, our ‘Moja app’ has created incentives to encourage blood donors to volunteer” she said.
“While our ‘Immunization tracker’ app has equipped health workers in the field to remotely update child and maternal database in real time using smart devices for data collection, our ‘Maternal and Child Health Education’ app sends pre and post natal health information to pregnant women within deprived communities in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions”, Nana added.
Vodafone’s free nationwide screening exercise, Healthfest has by far screened over 20,000 Ghanaians in both deprived and urban communities across the country.
Osu Mantse, Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI has commended Vodafone Ghana for bringing the mini-clinic to various communities as a way of closing the doctor-to-patient ratio while taking financial burdens off the family’s neck.
Other health-related projects that the Foundation introduced over the period include free medical screening and relief support for the victims of the June 3 Floods. Through a partnership with Operation Smile’, the Foundation created awareness about cleft lip and offered free surgical operations.
The Foundation as part of efforts to reduce the infant mortality rate in the country has donated incubators to a number hospitals across the country, including the Nsawam Government Hospital and the Taifa Polyclinic.
By donation GHS99,000 to the Anatomy Department of the School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, and GHS40, 000 to the Cardiothoracic Centre; the Foundation supported their efforts in improving healthcare delivery.
The Foundation continues to offer free ultra-sound scanning for pregnant women in the under resourced health facilities in the Eastern and Western regions. Thousands of residents in underprivileged communities in Ayeuano, Akyemansa, Suhum, and Akwapim South have already benefitted from the free ongoing mobile ultrasound scanning.
It would be recalled that the Foundation in 2013 transformed the adults and children cancer wards of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital into a leading cancer treatment facility in West Africa.
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Credit: Vodafone Ghana