After nine seasons of reaching out to various communities and fully paying for the cost of life-saving surgeries for hundreds of Ghanaians, Vodafone Healthline, Vodafone Ghana Limited’s flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) health programme cannot be applauded enough.
As the popular adage goes,”health is wealth”. Thus, without a good state of mental, physical, emotional, and social wellbeing, people cannot be economically active and work to increase productivity, which then translates to socioeconomic empowerment. A reason why Vodafone Healthline’s transformational impact cannot be overemphasized.
Beyond the amazing, life-saving, and transformative stories demonstrating how Vodafone Healthline has impacted lives, another important aspect of the commendation is the health education sessions championed by in-house health professionals, Dr. Abba Folson and Dr. Kwekuma Yalley.
They carefully digested and broke down complex daily activities and their health implications, as well as debunked several myths associated with certain health conditions common in Ghanaian society.
Using the most recent edition, season nine, as an example, the programme presented impeccable COVID-19 sensitization guidelines, safety protocols, and good healthy living practices to help people stay energized through such a dreadful period. It also provided professional health counselling to the general public on total wellness.
The team travelled across the length and breadth of the country to bring hope to afflicted lives and put joy on the faces of families that, due to financial challenges, could not afford crucial medical care when it was needed most.
Heart touching testimonies from the previous seasons such as rescue of Kweku Simon a nine-year-old accident victim who lost both legs and got his education truncated; Christabel Assifuah, who swallowed a calculator battery and required a surgery to correct a complication, in the Western Region; and the rescue of eight-year-old Nasir Lihadi, who was living with severe burn scars, are just a few of the over hundreds of lives touched.
Suggestion/Recommendation
However, whilst touting and commending Vodafone Ghana for this great initiative that has become a song on the lips of the many families who have benefitted from this all-important corporate social investment programme, there are a few value chain processes that should be addressed in order to better reach the most vulnerable communities.
Recounting their experiences, some of the recipients, particularly those in the rural areas, indicated that it took some family friend who resides in the city or a teacher in the village school to assist them get in touch with Vodafone Healthline to apply for the support.
To this end, I strongly recommend the implementation of strategies that will ensure that people in the very remote areas get to hear the good news as well as the means to apply in simple steps that even the illiterate can be able to follow through.
For instance, since teachers have been mentioned to have played a critical facilitation role in most of the stories involving children and students, I will recommend that the Vodafone Foundation form a partnership with Ghana Education Service (GES), to sensitize teachers operating in rural communities about the initiative and keep them abreast with the application process so they can assist parents and students who qualify.
