Ecobank Foundation Ghana today donated medical equipment, computers and scholarships to the tune of GHC600,000 to various institutions and persons to mark it fourth annual Ecobank Day.
The bank with its sisters institutions in the country gave out various sophisticated medical equipment to the maternal departments of seven hospitals in the country, seventeen computers and 100 career development books to Tri Town SHS in Aflao, and three years scholarships to 25 brilliant but needy JHS graduates to continue to SHS.
The focus on education and health is in line with the Ecobank Day theme for the group, which is “Promoting ICT Education and Improving Maternal Health Care in Africa”.
The medical equipment the bank donated include suction machines, ultrasound machines, incubators, autoclave desktops, delivery beds, infant weighing scales, radiant heaters, phototherapy lights, oxygen concentrators and others.
Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, Dan Sackey, who presented the medical equipment to the Maternity Department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, said similar equipment have also been presented to six other hospitals in the country.
The other beneficiary hospitals are La General Hospital, Tema Polyclinic, Maternal-Child Health Hospital in Kumasi, Kumasi South Hospital, and Tamale Government Hospital.
Dan Sackey noted that WHO report indicate 830 women die daily from preventable complications associated with pregnancy and childbirth, and 99% of the deaths occur in developing countries.
“This is lamentable more so in women living in rural and impoverished area – and this is what drove the decision to use Ecobank Day this year to help reduce maternal mortality in our countries,” he said.
The Ecobank Ghana Boss also noted that recent studies by Aga Khan University in Kenya showed that access to ICT facilities in schools in Africa is 150 students per computer while the ratio is 15 per computer in developed countries.
He said the studies also showed ICT has penetrated all sectors of economies and that shows how important it is to improve ICT studies in schools, hence the decision at Ecobank to help schools with computers this year.
Dan Sackey said the bank is also in the process of building five model schools across the country, starting from a school at Agbogba in Accra, which they found in a dilapidated state and have now reconstructing the entire school.
“We believe our children must learn under conducive conditions, hence our collaboration with African Thriving Initiative to start the model schools project,” he said.
Ecobank staff also used the opportunity of the day to clean up the various beneficiary hospitals and also donated food and drinks to patients on admission.
Meanwhile, Acting Medical Director at Korle Bu, Dr. Roberta Lamptey was full of gratitude to Ecobank for their continuous support to the hospital.
She recalled that in 2012 Ecobank gave the hospital US$200,000, than in 2015, Ecobank ladies donated GHC25,000 to the hospital and this year they have brought sophisticated medical equipment that will help the hospital deal effectively with the many complex cases they are faced with daily.
