Three hospitals – KNUST hospital, Suntreso Government Hospital and Apostolic Hospital - have received Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has the fight against covid-19 intensifies.

What looks like a resurgence of new strains of the covid-19, is prompting swift action by both corporate institutions and health officials to strengthen the fight.

The donation of the PPEs by Ash Cell limited (distributors for MTN Ghana in the Ashanti Region), is part of activities marking the company’s 10^th anniversary celebrations which included the launch of a logo.

The beneficiary hospitals received boxes of face masks, and hand gloves in addition to other materials to support the fight. The donation was the second in a series of philanthropic activities after it donated some quantities of white canes to the Ghana Blind Union.

Corporate Services Executive, Jerry Otchi, said the donation is critical at this time because the fight against the coronavirus must be heightened at this stage.

The resurgence of the pandemic, he noted, would not only affect the health of the people but also impact negatively on businesses, adding that, the fight was the collective responsibility of every Ghanaian.

“Some businesses have recovered, others are yet and some may never recover, so if there is resurgence obviously it will impact businesses in Ghana especially in this region again. What we have learnt as a business is that we have to take the protocols very seriously. My advice is that together we can fight this Covid thing but we need to keep stick to the Covid protocols, that is why we are supporting the health facilities. By doing so, we will protect jobs and livelihoods and Heath care of lot of Ghanaians.”

Mr. Otchi revealed that the company have had to reduce it branches from 32 to 16 branches across the region due to Covid-19, as a result reassigned staff to affected branches. He acknowledges that the support for frontline health workers must be a continuous exercise in this difficult time.

“We are still in the COVID era and the pandemic is not over so it is our believe that if we are going to stretch our hand to the community as part of the celebrations, the best thing we thought of is the hospital and items that can be used to fight COVID-19. “These are disposables that are used every day by the frontline workers, so we must all support hospitals to keep our health workers safe in the face of the pandemic,” he added.

He said as a business which has a stake in the health of the people, they were committed to support the health system to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Support to Ghana Blind Union
Meanwhile, the Ashanti Regional Chapter of the Ghana Blind Union has taken delivery of white canes to aid their mobility.

A white cane allows its users to scan their surroundings for obstacles, and helpful for onlookers to identify the user as visually impaired and offer the necessary support.

Officials say close to 5,000 people in the region are visually impaired, majority of which have no white canes to aid their movement. The gesture by Ash Cell Ghana Limited, is therefore very critical for members of the association.

Chairman of the union in Ashanti Region, George Kyeremanteng, expressed gratitude to Ash Cell, and called on government to reduce taxes to benevolent organisations that are compassionate to the vulnerable in the society.

Some educational institutions within the Asokwa enclave where Ash Cell operate from would also be receiving donations in the form of stationary.

Senior Manager of MTN, Northern Business Sector Madam Adwoa Baah Obeng, commended Ash Cell for what she called hard work, perseverance, commitment and innovation in achieving excellence in the past ten years.