MTN Uganda and partners commission fully furnished women and children’s ward at Alwi Health Centre III

MTN Uganda, through the MTN Foundation and in partnership with Alur Kingdom and leading corporate partners, has commissioned and handed over a newly constructed and fully furnished women and children’s ward at Alwi Health Centre III in Pakwach District.

The investment, valued at over UGX 156.6 million, was delivered through a collaborative effort involving Huawei, GDE, Rak, Enetworks, Soliton, Rontech, Quavatel, Fireside, Coolwave, MTN SACCO, Dynamo, Pavicon, Seagate and Nubly, with several partners contributing both financial and in-kind support.

The project was undertaken in response to a critical need identified during the 2025 21 Days of Y’ello Care initiative, when it emerged that men, women and children were sharing a single inpatient ward due to limited infrastructure. At the time, the facility had only six beds serving between 700 and 800 patients monthly, posing significant health and privacy risks, particularly for mothers and children.

The newly commissioned ward provides dedicated space for women and children and is fully equipped with 16 patient beds and mattresses, IV stands, bedside lockers, privacy screens, wheelchairs, stretchers, oxygen concentrators, suction machines, pulse oximeters, examination couches, refrigerators and other essential medical equipment. The investment significantly strengthens both the capacity and quality of inpatient care at the facility.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Thomas Motlepa, Chief Technology & Information Officer at MTN Uganda, reaffirmed the company’s long-term commitment to strengthening health systems in last-mile communities.

“This ward is about dignity, safety and quality of care,” he said. “When a mother is in labour or a child is admitted for treatment, they deserve an environment designed specifically for their needs. Our commitment as MTN Uganda goes beyond business. It is about enabling progress and investing in the foundations of human development.”

The expansion has already had measurable impact. Alwi Health Centre III now serves between 2,000 and 2,500 patients per month, reflecting renewed community trust and improved service delivery. The separation of wards enhances infection control, privacy and patient outcomes, while modern equipment enables quicker diagnosis and more targeted treatment.

Given its strategic location along the Pakwach–Arua highway, the facility is now better positioned to stabilise accident victims before referral to higher-level health centres, strengthening emergency response capacity across the district.

The women and children’s ward builds on earlier interventions implemented during the 21 Days of Y’ello Care campaign. In 2025, MTN Uganda and its partners renovated the health centre’s kitchen and sanitation facilities, installed a water-harvesting system to improve access to clean water for expectant mothers, provided internet-connected computers to enhance patient record management, and deployed solar lighting to ensure uninterrupted services during power outages.

District leaders and health officials welcomed the investment, noting that the improvements have significantly enhanced service delivery and strengthened the facility’s relationship with the surrounding community.

Through initiatives such as this, MTN Uganda continues to support the country’s health sector by addressing critical infrastructure and equipment gaps, particularly in underserved communities. Past interventions include the construction of Lela Obaro II Health Centre II in Gulu, alongside material and financial support to health facilities such as Kawempe National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Aroi Health Centre III in Arua, Amach Health Centre IV in Lira, Naboa Health Centre III in Budaka, Kigorobya Health Centre III in Hoima District, Kijura Health Centre III in Kabarole District, and Kamukira Health Centre IV in Kabale, all aimed at strengthening access to quality care.

As part of its corporate responsibility agenda, MTN Uganda remains committed to partnering with the government, development partners, and local communities to deliver sustainable impact and improve livelihoods countrywide.

The MTN Uganda Foundation is a not-for-profit legal entity that was inaugurated in July 2007 as a vehicle through which MTN Uganda implements its corporate social investments (CSI). The Foundation strives to improve the quality of life in communities where MTN Uganda operates in a sustainable way. Its purpose is to bring about meaningful, measurable, and sustainable change that helps disadvantaged and rural communities to become self-sufficient. With a focus on innovative technology, we aim to uplift communities towards independence in this bold new digital world. The Foundation invests resources for social redress, thus economic empowerment, education, health, and humanitarian response. The Foundation implements projects that are highly enabled by ICT solutions.

MTN Uganda is a leading telecoms company in Uganda with a primary objective of carrying on the business of a national operator of a telecommunications network pursuant to the National Telecommunications Operator (NTO) licence granted by the Uganda Telecommunications Commission (UCC). Among our offerings are network services, digital and financial technology services, interconnect and roaming, sale of mobile devices, and MTN Mobile Money (conducted through subsidiary MTN Mobile Money Uganda Limited). MTN has a presence in all 134 districts of Uganda. Services are delivered through a network of over 219,000 MoMo agents, 100,980 MoMo merchants, 200 service stores and 13 main distributors. For the period ended June 30, 2025, MTN Uganda had 22.8 million subscribers, 13.3 million MoMo users, and 10.8 million active data users.

Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a leading emerging market operator with a clear vision to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world to our 240 million customers in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East. We are inspired by our belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern, connected life. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code “MTN.” We are pursuing our Ambition 2021 strategy, focusing on growth in data, fintech, and digital businesses.