Vodafone presents coronavirus items to Upper West Regional Hospital

The Vodafone Ghana Foundation has presented assorted Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to support the Management of the Upper West Regional Hospital in their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and meningitis.

These include 150 pieces of Tyvek coveralls, 2,400 pieces of N95 facemasks, 10 infrared non-contact gun thermometers, 2,000 anti-bacterial surface wipes, 1,500 pieces of face masks, 800 pieces of disposable gowns, 2,500 latex gloves, 20 pieces of washing bowls, and 50 packs of tissue for hand drying.

The rest are 4,000 bin liners, 1,250 latex gloves, 20 protective face shields, 50 gallons of bleach, 30 gallons of antibacterial soap, 30 gallons of hand sanitizer, 30 gallons of robbing alcohol, 1,000 pieces of spinal needles, and 1,500 IV antibiotics (Cephtriaoxone).

Presenting the items, Mr Robert Kwei Blankson, the Upper West Zonal Sales Manager for Vodafone, said the gesture was part of the Foundation’s efforts at helping government in the two diseases.

Similar donations, he said, had been made to other health facilities across the country, thereby demonstrating Vodafone’s commitment to ensuring the safety of the public in the midst of the global pandemic.

He said Foundation was aware the facility treated COVID-19 patients and thus decided to support in protecting the frontline workers.

“I salute all frontline workers, you are our heroes and we say ‘ayekoo’ for your dedication and sacrifice,” Mr Blankson said.

He appealed to the public to strictly adhere to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommended safety protocols, such as wearing of facemask, washing hands with soap under running water, and use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer to protect themselves and others from getting infected.

Dr Damien Punguyire, the Upper West Regional Director of Health Services, said the Regional Hospital had managed more than 60 per cent of the COVID-19 cases in the Region, adding that, the management of these cases involved the high utilisation of the PPE.

He, therefore, commended Vodafone Ghana Foundation for the support, stressing that, the items would go a long way to boost the confidence of the frontline workers.

Mr Punguyire said the Region had so far recorded 22 cases of COVID-19, out of which 20 had fully recovered and had been integrated back to their communities.

The Region was still doing aggressive contact tracing, with more than 2,000 samples being sent for testing.

"For meningitis, we have come back to the baseline and for five weeks now, we have not had any Municipality or District experiencing an outbreak,” he said.

They were, however, monitoring the situation to be able to respond appropriately should there be any new case.

Dr Robert Amesiya, the Medical Director of the Upper West Regional Hospital, said even though PPE were on regular supply to the facility by the Government, they frequently run out due to their constant utilisation, and thanked the Foundation.

Dr Amesiya urged other companies to extend their support to health facilities to cover all the remote areas, including those in the Upper West Region.