Vodafone Ghana Foundation’s homecoming initiative, a corporate social responsibility activity of the telecommunication firm, has cleared medical bills for 300 patients who were unable to pay for their services at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH).
The gesture, which forms part of Vodafone’s activities to mark Ghana’s 61st Independence Day anniversary, was aimed at giving freedom patients who could not afford to pay for their medical bills to go home and celebrate with their families and loved ones.
Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana, Yolanda Zoleka Cuba, addressing the media during the presentation at KBTH, said, “we are here to help patients, especially babies born here few months ago to home. We are paying for their medical bills so that can be free, as Ghana marks its independence.
So, to us, it is just a moment of saying you can actually go home, you can be welcomed by your family. It is not only the maternity ward but we are taking out patients across different departments or wards at the hospital.”
About 20 patients at the maternity ward of KBTH, who benefited from the homecoming activity, also received some souvenirs from Vodafone.
Even though the amount involved was not disclosed, the CEO reiterated that a lot of money was put into the activity, citing examples were some of the patients had been at the hospital for almost two years without being able to settle their debt.
She added, “so such a person’s bill will be much higher than someone who has been here for just 30 days.”
The annual homecoming initiative has since its inception in 2011, settled bills of hundreds of patients of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, and thousands of patients in other health institutions across the country who were still defaulters to medical bills
Vodafone have been involved in health delivery in Ghana for many years and have invested heavily in the sector’s development. For instance, the company’s Health-Line – a health programme on television, have impacted many lives over the years.
Vodafone Ghana Foundation, has a good partnership relationship with KBTH, refurbishing the surgical, ecology, and the paediatric units of the hospital.
