The MTN Ghana Foundation has commissioned a newly constructed Maternity Ward for the Ejisu Government Hospital, at Ejisu-Juaben in the Ashanti Region. The company invested a total of GHc240,675.88 to construct the 20-bed maternity block fully furnished medical equipment and furniture. It also has a labor ward, lying-in ward, doctors’ and nurses’ resting rooms and an area for antenatal clinic. The hospital had long lacked adequate facilities to provide the healthcare needs of the increasing population of the municipality. It was built as a community healthcare centre in 1972 and upgraded to a district hospital in June 2010. The existing maternity ward is burdened with the task of delivering service to the people of Ejisu and its environs, where the Midwife/fertility age ratio stands at 1:7175. The maternity ward has therefore been faced with the challenge of inadequate resources required to provide much needed maternal care. “It is in response to this need that the MTN Ghana Foundation stepped in to provide assistance with the expansion of the maternity unit,” MTN said in a statement. Commissioning the new maternity ward, the Corporate Services Executive of MTN Ghana, Mrs. Cynthia Lumor, said, “As a responsible corporate citizen, we at MTN recognise the importance of helping to improve health care delivery, especially maternal health, and we cannot but fully support the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals 4 & 5 by 2015 through the provision of the necessary infrastructure.” She added,“ We hope that this facility will be utilized to enhance the quality of health delivery at Ejisu Government Hospital and help in the reduction of the maternal mortality rates in the Ashanti region and Ghana as a whole”. The chief of Ejisu, Nana Afrane Okese IV who was the chairperson of the occasion said, “MTN will forever be remembered in the history of Ejisu because of its kind gesture through the provision of this maternity ward.” He encouraged all gathered to patronize MTN’s products and services. Dr. Eric Boachie-Agyemang, Deputy Regional Director for Clinical Care, stated that healthcare is a commodity patronized by all and therefore requires the support of all stakeholders. He thanked MTN Ghana Foundation for the good work they are embarking on all over the nation and used the occasion to appeal to the hospital staff to ensure optimal use of the facility by putting in place a proper maintenance plan for it. The Medical Superintendant of Ejisu Government Hospital, Dr. Fredrick Osei Owusu also expressed the hospital’s appreciation to MTN Ghana Foundation for accepting the hospital’s proposal. He said “Ghana Health Service appealed to over one hundred corporate bodies for support for the maternity block but only MTN responded. It is our fervent hope that other organizations will emulate this shining example of MTN.” Hon. Afrifa Yamoah Ponko, Municipal Chief Executive of Ejisu, added that, “MTN has posed a big challenge to the municipality through the swift execution of this project. We are motivated to do even more for Ejisu. For MTN Ghana Foundation to have spent close to GH¢ 250,000.00 for the sake of the people in and around Ejisu is no mean investment and must be commended”. He further encouraged MTN to maintain its leadership in the telecom industry to enable more communities benefit from development projects. The MTN Ghana Foundation has over the past five years impacted the lives of thousands of people in different communities across the country through the provision of education, health and economic empowerment projects. Some of the health-related projects that the Foundation has undertaken in the Ashanti Region include equipping the Kotokuom Health Post in the Atwima Mponua District, the KNUST Hospital, and the construction of a block of wards and theatre for the Fomena Health Centre that will be completed in February 2013.