Maternal health care is expected to improve henceforth in the Nweneso No.2 community in the Atwima Kwanwoma District of the Ashanti region, with the refurbishment of its only health centre.

The health center which sees to the health needs of about six other towns lacked basic medical equipment and had infrastructural challenges that put the lives of patients and professionals at risk.

The renovation, undertaken by the 2015 Best Bank in Corporate Social Responsibility, Access Bank Ghana, formed part of its annual Employee Volunteer Programme (EVP).

The EVP provides a platform for staff of the bank to contribute resources to undertake a project within the communities where Access Bank operates.

Speaking to Ultimate Business after handing over the refurbished facility Friday, Ashanti Zonal Head for Access Bank Ghana, Pascal Akanlu revealed that this year’s EVP focused on good health and wellbeing (SDG 3), with specific emphasis on creating awareness on maternal health issues.

“Access Bank as a corporate entity has been doing a lot of corporate social responsibility for the people of Ghana. This time around we have our Employee Volunteer Programme and we looked at areas that are very necessary and contribute to the development of society”.

“We are looking at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the component of quality health and so we adopted the Nweneso No.2 community to improve the working environment for the health workers by refurbishing the facility”, the Zonal Head mentioned.

“We did some painting, changed the windows, changed the doors, changed the mosquito nets and have created a congenial atmosphere for the health workers to deliver quality services to their clients”.

Access Bank, further realizing that the Nweneso No.2 health centre lacked simple apparatus like gloves and thermometers that will aid them to deliver, decided to provide equipment which included surgical gloves, genecology gloves, examination gloves, stethoscope, autoclave, suturing set (digital), scale with ORD and an oxygen cylinder (complete).

Other donated items were Episiotomy set, Doppler (digital otoscope), infrared thermometer, baby weighing scale (digital), refridgerator set, generator set and floor carpets.

Akanlu hinted that the bank will periodically visit the facility to check on other things needed to make their work effective and efficient.

On their part, the clinic and the traditional leadership of Nweneso No. 2 expressed their utmost gratitude to Access Bank and called for more support from other corporate institutions.

The Access Bank Ghana EVP team in Ashanti, were drawn from its branches at Adum, Alabar, Amakom, Kejetia, Suame and KNUST respectively.