Monday, July 4, 2011

Vodafone ‘Healthline’ launched

Vodafone Ghana’s Healthline project, aimed at empowering Ghanaians by educating them on common health issues and improving the dissemination of healthcare information, has been launched in Accra.

Healthline, a television broadcast show, also aims to improve the current health situation by bringing quality, affordable, credible and reliable information to the homes of all Ghanaians nationwide.

The move stems from fact that the doctor-to-patient ratio in Ghana is below the figure recommended by the World Health Organisation, implying that Ghanaians are not getting adequate health information and advice.

Minister of Health, Mr. Joseph Yieleh Chireh, speaking at the ceremony urged other companies and corporate bodies to emulate Vodafone’s Healthline initiative to help promote quality, healthy lifestyles and educate the nation with profound health information.

“This novelty by Vodafone is a real indication of the company’s commitment to their Corporate Social Responsibility, and it is an initiative that will benefit a lot of Ghanaians,” he said.

Chief Executive of Vodafone Ghana, Mr. Kyle Whitehill, said due to the various myths surrounding health issues, the company decided to come out with such an innovation to discard them and help Ghanaians tackle some of the challenging health-related issues.

He added that Vodafone, through Healthline, will not only use money to help people with various health issues, but also advise thousands of Ghanaians on how to stay healthy and avoid unhealthy behaviours.

“Vodafone Ghana has compiled research based on the call to entry in April 2011 to identify specific areas in which patients’ understanding of their medical condition is lacking. The content of Healthline is therefore based on the needs and interests of the Ghanaian public.

“The doctor-to-patient ratio in Ghana is below the figure recommended by the World Health Organisation, implying that Ghanaians are not getting adequate health information and advice.”

Head of Corporate Communications, Vodafone Ghana - Carmen Bruce-Annan, said: “Vodafone is passionate about health simply because health is one of the passions of Ghanaians. We also realised that people are not empowered when it comes to their health; they feel that it is the health professional that knows it all, yet there’s a lot we can do to help ourselves given the right information about treatment and preventative measures.

“Vodafone therefore wants to empower Ghanaians to take control of their health and lead healthier lives.”

Healthline is a TV show that has therefore been conceptualised and developed by a team at Vodafone.

The show will feature a panel of doctors which will address health questions sent in by members of the public. The panel features Dr. Bryite Asamoah, Dr Senyo Misroame, and Dr. Araba Laing.

The doctors will treat many topics including hepatitis, pregnancy, cancer, heart and cardiac conditions, body-pain, sex and reproductive health, sickle-cell, and infectious diseases. The show also features specialists who discuss the various topics featured on the show.

The show will be in two parts, with education and information forming the first part of the show. In the second part, viewers will be privy to real health cases being treated by doctors in various hospitals.

Vodafone Ghana has worked with health superintendents in regional hospitals -- finding patients who need urgent medical care but cannot afford it, and paying for their treatment. Viewers can watch the life-changing surgeries.

Healthline will be broadcast on Sundays on Metro TV, Wednesdays on GTV, and Thursdays on TV3 at 8.00pm each day.

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