Micro insurance provider aYo Intermediaries Ghana Limited has constructed a GHS150,000 mechanized borehole for Agona Nkum community in the Central Region, responding to acute water shortages that contributed to a deadly cholera outbreak earlier this year.
The MTN Ghana subsidiary commissioned the water facility to address conditions that made Agona Nkum one of the hardest-hit communities during February’s cholera outbreak in the Central Region, which resulted in several fatalities.
An assessment team deployed by aYo discovered that irregular water supply forced residents to rely on a contaminated stream exposed to fecal matter and other pollutants from a nearby dumping site. The company contracted Accra-based vendors to build the mechanized borehole as an alternative source of safe drinking water.
“We urge you to see it as your own – maintain it – protect it and ensure that it serves both the current and future generations,” aYo CEO Francis Gota told residents during the commissioning ceremony.
Gota explained that the project aligns with aYo’s corporate social responsibility focus on health, education, and technology initiatives. The borehole specifically aims to prevent waterborne diseases while reducing the burden on women and children who previously traveled long distances to fetch water.
The insurance executive highlighted aYo’s broader impact in Ghana, noting the company covers over 8.5 million lives under various insurance packages and has paid out more than GHS36 million in claims over seven years of operations.
Agona West Municipal Chief Executive Eric Gyamfi Odoom praised aYo’s intervention, describing the timing as crucial given widespread water shortages across the municipality. The borehole project allows local government to redirect limited resources to other pressing needs.
Odoom expressed particular concern about illegal mining activities contaminating streams that would otherwise serve as alternative water sources for communities facing shortages. He called on media outlets, religious institutions, and community leaders to intensify campaigns against galamsey operations.
“People in areas like Agona West are really feeling it even though they do not practice galamsey in that municipality,” the municipal chief executive stated.
Community leader Nana Mprah Afful, Omankrado of Agona Nkum, thanked aYo for the gesture while indicating additional needs including two more boreholes and a community library. He expressed hope that the company would return with further development projects.
aYo operates as Ghana’s leading micro insurance provider, offering accessible coverage through MTN’s mobile platform. Customers can access various insurance packages by dialing *296#, including the popular Family Cover policy providing GHS15,000 coverage for a GHS15 monthly premium.
The borehole project represents part of aYo’s commitment to community development in areas where it provides insurance services. The company emphasizes ensuring customers not only purchase insurance but actively benefit from their coverage through innovative, affordable packages targeted at vulnerable populations.
The Central Region’s cholera outbreak highlighted ongoing water and sanitation challenges across Ghana’s rural communities, where inadequate infrastructure continues to pose health risks. aYo’s intervention demonstrates private sector responses to public health crises through targeted community development initiatives.
The mechanized borehole provides immediate relief for Agona Nkum residents while serving as a model for corporate social responsibility programs addressing Ghana’s water access challenges in underserved communities.
