More than 300 pregnant women braved the rain and turned out at the Kasseh Health Centre in Ada for free ultrasound scanning and antenatal support services, organised by the Telecel Ghana Foundation.

This forms part of its bimonthly Rural Ultrasound initiative.

The highly patronised outreach, which forms part of the Foundation's ongoing commitment to improving access to maternal healthcare in underserved communities, provided expectant mothers with ultrasound scans, medical reports, nutritional counselling and comprehensive antenatal education.

Women whose scans indicated early signs of complications, such as anaemia, were referred to the health facility for continued support and clinical monitoring.

Nurse Manager for the Kasseh Health Centre, Coleman Adator, said the programme is essential to improving maternal health outcomes because pregnant women require these ultrasound scans for safer pregnancies and also to encourage them to consistently attend antenatal services.

“A lot of them cannot do the scans at the private centres because of the financial expense and also the unavailability of the scanning equipment at the public health centre,” Mr Adator said.

“Having this ultrasound scan today will encourage them to come for antenatal services and help the midwives to monitor the progress of the pregnancy to improve maternal health in the district.”

Despite persistent rainfall throughout the afternoon, expectant mothers arrived in their hundreds from Kasseh and surrounding communities, with many travelling considerable distances.

The extraordinary turnout showed the extent of the unmet need for affordable maternal healthcare in rural Ghana and the high level of patronage that community health outreach can generate among the populations it serves.

Health officers used the occasion to deliver nutrition advice tailored to pregnancy, covering dietary requirements, the importance of iron and folate supplementation, and key warning signs for expectant mothers to watch.

Every beneficiary received a formal scan report for subsequent antenatal appointments and a gift package from Telecel Foundation.

Amanda Sewu, 24, said the ultrasound scan at private health centres was costly and is grateful to the foundation for the financial relief the initiative provided.

“I had to spend a lot of money on my two ultrasound scans and couldn’t continue anymore. Thanks to Telecel Ghana Foundation, I have been able to do my scan for free, and we hope they visit Ada again," the 8-month pregnant mother said.

Another expectant mother, Sandra Agyemang Yeboah, highlighted both the quality of care and the warmth with which women were received throughout the day.

“I'm very excited to have been part of this screening. We were warmly received and well taken care of. The health professionals also educated us on proper nutrition and how to take care of ourselves during pregnancy."

Head of Foundation, Sustainability and External Communications at Telecel Ghana, Rita Rockson, said the initiative aims to reduce maternal mortality from preventable causes, which can be detected through scans and treated early to save lives.

“Today’s high patronage is a reminder of why maternal health support is a critical need for women in rural communities. Some of the pregnant women got referrals to medical facilities that will eventually save their lives and their babies,” Ms Rockson said.

“Rural Ultrasound is tackling the risks to maternal health by reaching more communities and helping to close that gap.”

Organised in partnership with the Divine Mother And Child (DMAC) Foundation, the Rural Ultrasound initiative forms part of the Telecel Foundation's Connected Health pillar, a programme designed to bring diagnostic maternal health services directly into underserved communities across Ghana.

By deploying qualified health professionals and diagnostic equipment to community-level facilities, the initiative eliminates the twin barriers of cost and distance that prevent many rural women from accessing essential antenatal care.

The Rural Ultrasound outreach directly supports Sustainable Development Goal 3.1, which calls for a global reduction in the maternal mortality ratio and universal access to skilled antenatal care.

Telecel Foundation said the initiative is part of its sustained effort to connect Ghana's rural and peri-urban communities to quality healthcare.