MTN Eswatini, through MTN Foundation have donated eight computers worth just over E90 000 to Baylor Clinic in Mbabane.

The donation will benefit over 5 300 patients who make about 40 000 visits to the medical facility per annum. About 40 per cent of these are children and caregivers.

The clinic is also a referral site for the most complicated cases of pediatrics, like those who are in third line antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Baylor Children Foundation Vice Chairperson Dr. Irma Allen and Baylor Clinic Executive Director Dr. Bhekumusa Lukhele received the computer donations on behalf of the medical institution.

This intervention was in response to a request by the non-governmental health institution for assistance to procure computers.

Baylor Clinic Executive Director Dr.Bhekumusa Lukhele said they urgently needed the computers because the ones they had were about 14 years old, and could not handle their advanced electronic record management system used to collect and store patient data.

“The computers donated by MTN Foundation will directly improve the care and treatment of our patients, reduce patient waiting times, increase accuracy of documentation, and facilitate rapid retrieval of information to improve patient quality care,” he said.

MTN Board Chairperson Busisiwe Simelane said when it comes to health; the MTN Foundation would like to cover more ground in supporting health interventions in the Kingdom of Eswatini.

“The challenge is often resource constraints: there is so much to do, yet the much-needed resources are always limited. MTN Foundation still makes it a point though to support, within the limitation of resources, initiatives which contribute to the improvement of quality of life of EmaSwati. Our hope is that this donation will enable this health facility to function efficiently and improve overall patient care,” she said.  

Baylor Children Foundation Vice Chairman Dr. Irma Allen said they hope to have a long-term partnership with MTN.

The Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation Eswatini-Baylor Eswatini is a non-governmental organization that work under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with government.

Government provides a subvention to Baylor Eswatini and Baylor Eswatini provide high quality family centered pediatric and adolescent health care free of charge to all eligible patients.

The clinic was opened by His Majesty King Mswati III in 2006.