• 400 members of the association registered onto the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to access quality health care

April 26, 2010, Accra: In furtherance of the commitment to improving the quality of life for the underprivileged, Zain Ghana has taken steps to provide migrant workers, referred to as Kayaye with ready access to quality health care by registering 400 members of the Kayaye Association of Ghana onto the National Health Insurance Scheme. This forms part of the sponsorship package offered the association when its founder, Michael Wempare Alongyah was awarded in Zain’s life-changing Touching Lives TV reality show. Zain has also lent support to his drive to educate the young girls in the northern part of the country to stem the mass rural-urban drift.

The gesture comes as a welcome relief to the beneficiaries who are usually left to their fate in times of ailment because of financial difficulties. With their NHIS membership, these young porters can now access health services without having to bother about payment which hitherto was a major consideration, preventing them from seeking treatment from recognized health facilities. Last year, Zain Ghana initiated the Touching Lives reality show to reward individuals who have made outstanding contributions to their communities by granting them their wish. For his effort at educating young girls up north and discouraging them from migrating to Accra in pursuit of non-existent jobs, the Zain Touching Lives team rewarded Michael with a generator, projector and screen, a set of public address system and sewing machines to enable him carry on with his awareness creation programme. Zain has also offered to register members of the association under the NHIS as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as well produce in English and Dagbani his documentary on the plight of the kayaye.

At the ceremony to present the cards to the beneficiaries, Manager of Corporate Communications and External Affairs, Mrs. Carmen Bruce Annan, said “Zain’s CSR programmes are geared toward supporting government achieve the Millennium Development Goals and this gesture will help improve maternal health as well as combat other diseases such as malaria.”

Catch the various episodes of your favourite TV reality show, Touching Lives on GTV this every Sunday at 6:00 pm

For further information please contact the press information line on 0262 222 260

About Zain Zain is a leading telecommunications operator across the Middle East and Africa providing mobile voice and data services to 64.7 million active customers as at 31 March 2009. In terms of country footprint, Zain is the 3rd largest mobile operator in the world with a commercial presence in 24 countries. Zain operates in the following countries: Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Palestine (currently known as Paltel Group), Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. In Lebanon, the company manages ‘mtc-touch’ on behalf of the government. In Morocco, Zain owns 31% of Wana Telecom through a joint venture. Zain offers innovative services in its markets such as ‘One Network’, the world’s first borderless mobile telecommunications network enabling customers when abroad to receive calls and sms without charge and to make voice and data calls at local rates throughout 19 countries in Africa and the Middle East. This service allows a customer to top up airtime in one’s home country or from more than 1,000,000 outlets within Zain’s One Network footprint.

The Zain brand is wholly owned by Mobile Telecommunications Company KSC, which is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (Stock ticker: ZAIN). Zain is listed in the Financial Times’ Global 500 Index which ranks the world’s largest companies based on market capitalization (http://www.ft.com/reports/ft5002008). Zain aims to become one of the top ten mobile operators in the world by end of the year 2011. For more, please visit www.zain.com or email info@zain.com