By Evans Worlanyo Ameamu
Keta (V/R), July 23, GNA – A 60-bed maternity and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) complex built by MTN Ghana and the MTN Foundation at the Keta Municipal Hospital has significantly improved maternal and child healthcare delivery in the Volta Region.
Hospital officials, health workers and clients say the facility, commissioned in March 2024, has contributed to improved maternal and neonatal outcomes, including recording no maternal deaths during the first half of 2026.
Mr Faruk Iddrissu, Administrator of the Keta Municipal Hospital, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the complex had transformed maternity care by bringing essential services, including a pharmacy, laboratory, ultrasound unit, delivery suites and an obstetric theatre, under one roof.
“Before the block was built, the maternity unit struggled with severe space constraints, forcing some clients to lie on the floor because of inadequate beds,” he said.
He said the integrated facility had eliminated unnecessary movement between departments, enabling quicker access to emergency and routine maternal healthcare.
Mr Iddrissu said the hospital had recorded more than 25,000 antenatal attendances since March 2024, averaging about 12,000 annually. More than 6,000 pregnant women had been admitted over the past two years, while deliveries during the period totalled about 3,000.
He said the NICU had also admitted more than 1,000 newborns, including twins and triplets requiring specialised care.
He said only four maternal deaths had been recorded over the past two years, with none reported in the first half of 2026, describing the achievement as a major milestone.
Newborn mortality during the same period stood at about eight cases, which he described as encouraging.
Mr Iddrissu expressed appreciation to MTN Ghana and the MTN Foundation for what he described as a life-saving investment that had improved access to quality maternal and neonatal healthcare.
Madam Fafali Dumeda, a Midwife and Anaesthetist, said the additional obstetric theatre had strengthened the hospital’s emergency response and helped save many lives, including those of a mother and her triplets during a recent emergency.
Madam Golo Grace, Maternity Ward In-Charge, said the new facility had replaced an overcrowded maternity ward and significantly improved service delivery.
She said the complex, which includes a labour ward, lying-in ward, theatre, pharmacy, laboratory, ultrasound unit and revenue office, had reduced delays, improved staff morale and increased antenatal attendance and skilled deliveries.
Madam Grace disclosed that the hospital recorded the highest number of skilled deliveries in the Volta Region in 2025, attributing the feat largely to the MT, a nursing mother, said the hospital had become a referral centre for clients from neighbouring districts and commended MTN Ghana for its supportN-sponsored facility.
Clients who spoke to GNA described the facility as clean, comfortable and well-equipped.
Madam Patricia Afful, a nursing mother, said the hospital had become a referral centre for clients from neighbouring districts and commended MTN Ghana for its support.
GNA gathered that the MTN Ghana Foundation Maternity and NICU Complex was completed at a total cost of GHS19 million, up from an initial construction budget of GHS15.2 million after the installation of medical equipment.
The facility, officially handed over on March 7, 2024, replaced a 20-bed maternity ward with a modern 60-bed complex comprising a maternity ward, a 20-bed NICU, a 20-bed mothers’ hostel and two fully equipped operating theatres.
According to statements issued during the commissioning, the facility serves as a major referral centre for the southern sector of the Volta Region, with the capacity to handle more than 3,000 maternal admissions and about 648 NICU cases annually.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah /Audrey Dekalu
Picture attached
July 23, 2026