The telecommunications giant through its social responsibility wing, MTN Ghana Foundation, four months ago, cut the sod to construct a 60-bed maternity and child health complex estimated to cost GHc15.2 million for the hospital.

The project, which would comprise of a 40-bed maternity ward made up of emergency rooms, a first stage ward and a delivery ward including recovery rooms and a lie in ward and, a 20-bed Neonatal Care Unit (NICU) is expected to be completed within a year to augment infrastructural deficits of the hospital.

The hospital currently has a 20-capacity maternity unit serving over 3,000 maternity and 684 NICU admissions annually.

The project would also include two operating theatres, two consulting rooms and offices for nurses, a 20-bed hostel for mothers, restroom for doctors and nurses, reception and out-patients department area, laboratory and dispensary, scrub and sluice room, anesthetics room, intensive care ward and staff eatery.

A visit by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to the site revealed that the project, which was being handled by the firm, Build-Haap Gh Ltd, could be completed ahead of the proposed 12-month period.

The construction, being done using a skeletal frame and had column raised for the first floor with roof beam on top in anticipation of roofing and eventual start of block works to complete the physical structure and furnishing.

Madam Doris Alorse, Nurse in charge of the Maternity Unit, Keta Municipal Hospital told the GNA that she could not wait for the completion of the project saying, not only her unit but “the whole hospital is happy because what they’re giving us is a whole complex, NICU and everything will be inside.”

Dr Senanu Kwesi Djokoto, acting Volta Regional Director of Health Service speaking earlier at the sod cutting ceremony for the project on December 20 last year, thanked MTN Ghana for the “monumental kind gesture” and deemed the project as “the first of its kind the Ghanaian business community has ever donated to the Health Service in the Volta Region.”

He said the region’s maternal mortality ratio of 103.4 per 100,000 live births in 2021 compared favourably with the national average of 111.3 per 100,000 live births same year and that it recorded 9.9 percent stillbirths in 2021 compared to the national average of 11.8 percent for the same year.

Dr Djokoto said these were as a result of the region’s implementation of cutting-edge interventions, and said despite the efforts, there was still more to be done to reach full potential of service delivery hence, the need for all stakeholders to support just like MTN Ghana was doing.

Mr Selorm Adadevoh, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Ghana, installed on the day as Togbi Nutefefia for exhibiting truth, trust and honesty by fulfilling the promise of constructing a modern edifice in the hospital, said the company was happy for the single largest investment in the health sector and hoped it would deliver improved maternal healthcare after completion.

Torgbui Sri III, the Awoamefia of Anlo State described the project as testament to MTN Ghana’s contributions in improving healthcare delivery in Ghana, lauding in particular, Mr Adadevoh, a native for leading the charge in bringing such huge investment to the area and called on other Anlo citizens to do good deeds for their land.