Accra, Ghana// – Hundreds of health centres, especially those in peri-urban, rural and underserved communities across Ghana, would benefit from the 2026 MTN Y’ello Care activities.
The 21 Day Y’ello Care 2026, which was launched today by Ghana’s Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh according to Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer of MTN Ghana Adwoa Wiafe, would involve thousands of MTN staff volunteers implement practical, community-led health initiatives to improve access to preventive, provision of beds, primary, and responsive care in the country.
These interventions, she noted at the launch, would leverage MTN’s connectivity, digital platforms, and strategic partnerships to help scale healthcare access to underserved communities and strengthen long-term health resilience.
Madam Wiafe added that planned activities include the repair of hospital beds, the donation of new beds, community health outreach programmes-Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), digital health education campaigns, telemedicine-enabled services, public health screening to support the campaign against the rising incidence of non-communicable diseases, and the use of data and digital tools to strengthen the delivery of health services.
By focusing on prevention, early detection, digitally enabled healthcare solutions, and community-based care, the campaign aims to expand access to services, strengthen healthcare resilience, and improve health outcomes at scale.
The 2026 edition of 21 Days of Y’ello Care, which is MTN Ghana’s flagship employee volunteerism campaign, began today, June 1 to 21, 2026, and aims to equip various health centres with beds to help address critical healthcare challenges in Ghana.
This year’s theme, ‘Expand Equitable Health for Every Community’, addresses persistent healthcare access challenges in many parts of Ghana.
Despite significant progress, large segments of the population, particularly in rural, remote, and underserved areas, continue to face barriers to essential health services due to distance, cost, limited infrastructure, and shortages of skilled health workers.
These gaps disproportionately affect women, children, youth, and vulnerable populations.
On screening, Madam Wiafe noted that the staff volunteers would lead community education on healthy lifestyles and carry out health screenings in underserved areas, including tests for sickle cell disease, HIV, and tuberculosis.
Health Minister lauds MTN Ghana
Ghana’s Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, used the opportunity to laud MTN Ghana for aligning its interventions with national health priorities and further supporting efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery across the country.
He stressed the need for stronger collaboration between the government and the private sector, noting that such partnerships are essential for improving healthcare delivery systems, expanding access, and ensuring more efficient responses to health challenges.
What the Director General of the Ghana Health Service says
The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Prof. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, said that MTN Ghana had consistently supported a wide range of health interventions across the country.
These, he mentioned, include healthcare infrastructure projects, blood donation exercises, maternity facility support, and community-based outreach programmes aimed at improving access to health services.
He also mentioned MTN Ghana’s critical role during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly its support for the establishment of the Ghana Infectious Disease Centre, which he described as a landmark intervention that continues to strengthen the country’s public health emergency response capacity.
Prof Akoriyea was emphatic that the government alone would not meet all healthcare needs in the country and therefore called for stronger and sustained public-private partnerships to enhance healthcare delivery and ensure wider access to quality health services.
Rising Non-Communicable Diseases
Pharmacist and Founder of BetterHealth With Dr Payne, Dr Anita Payne, revealed that non-communicable diseases account for between 43 and 45 per cent of deaths in Ghana, admitting that the growing burden of lifestyle-related illnesses in the country.
Many people are living with underlying health conditions such as hypertension and diabetes without their knowledge, and often only become aware of them when they undergo routine medical screening or health checks, according to her.
Dr Payne advised the public to take preventive healthcare seriously by adopting healthier lifestyles, and therefore recommended regular physical exercise, balanced diets, adequate rest, and consistent health screening as key measures to reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases and improve overall well-being.
Through Y’ello Care,
Through Y’ello Care, MTN reaffirms its commitment to enabling inclusive development and strengthening the communities we serve.
Now in its 19th year, Y’ello Care continues to demonstrate the impact of employee-led action in driving meaningful and sustainable change across the communities they serve.
Since its inception, the campaign has mobilised thousands of MTN employees to support initiatives spanning education, healthcare, youth development, and economic empowerment.
Over the past 19 years, the campaign has reached more people through the efforts of MTN employee volunteers, contributing significant hours to community engagement, evolving each year to respond to the most pressing needs in our communities, guided by MTN’s purpose of leading digital solutions that drive Africa’s progress.
