MTN Foundation Renovates and Furnishes Kijuura Health Center III Maternity Ward in Fort Portal

As it marks 20 years of existence, MTN Uganda has, through its corporate social responsibility arm, the MTN Foundation, refurbished and furnished the maternity ward at Kijuura Health Center lll in Kijuura town council as a way of giving back to the community.

A tune of 100million shillings was spent on renovating the ward and equipping it with 10 hospital beds, 10 mattresses, 10 blankets and 10 mosquito nets.

The refurbished facility was handed over by the Kabarole Woman MP, Hon. Sylvia Rwabwogo who was the guest of honor at the event.

In her keynote speech, Rwabwogo lauded MTN for its support.

“This hospital equipment and the refurbished ward will go a long way in extending quality services to the mothers and children of Kijuura town council and the surrounding areas.” Rwabwogo said.

Dr. Richard Mugahi, the Fort Portal District Health Officer urged the community members to utilise the facility and desist from delivering babies from outside health facilities.

“This ward will help reduce maternal deaths in our region. I thank MTN for this support and I urge our mothers to use the facility now that it has been renovated and furnished,” Mugahi said.

Nurse Tracy Priscilla the health center in-charge noted that with the refurbishment, mothers in Kijuura will deliver their babies in comfort and dignity.

Bryan Mbasa, the MTN Foundation Manager said that: “Although it is a commercial entity, MTN works with communities and gives back in areas that are critical yet underserved. We value mothers and children; that is why we refurbished the maternity ward.”

Mbasa also noted that to date, the MTN Foundation has refurbished 30 hospitals in 15 districts under its Access to Health Initiative. The Foundation works closely with the Ministry of Health and local government leadership of the districts where the implementation takes place.

Michael Sekadde, the Human Resource General Manager at MTN Uganda said that MTN is committed to improving the lives of the people that they serve.

“MTN continues to supplement the efforts of the government in the health sector. The improvement of the health sector is not only for the government that is stretched in terms of resources to ensure all facilities are improved and refurbished. The government efforts can now focus on ensuring the health centre is fully stocked and the workers are well remunerated to maintain their levels of motivation,” Sekadde said.

In 1998, MTN launched its operations in Uganda. In those 20 years it has paid about Shs 2 trillion in taxes and employs over 500,000 people both directly and directly. On top of that, at least 11.2 million customers use the network to connect. As part of the celebrations, MTN is holding regional expos in order to appreciate the 20 years of being everywhere in Uganda.

MTN Regional Expos calendar.