The Asaase Foundation is the corporate social responsibility platform of Asaase Broadcasting Company Ltd. Its first campaign was launched to tie in with the first anniversary of Asaase 99.5 Accra in 2021 and support health care in Ghana.

The spur for #AsaaseKidneyCare was a relationship very close to home: one of our on-air personalities – DJ Ace of BBC Radio 1Xtra fame – was living with acute kidney disease, faced mounting discomfort from it and was slowly beginning to tire of the treatment.

It was decided that Asaase should try to raise money to help and also use its media to educate the public on ways to reduce their personal risk of developing kidney disease. The Asaase Kidney Care Campaign creates and promotes kidney health awareness, and also raises funds to procure dialysis machines and consumables for hospitals across the country.

Asaase originally scheduled a charity ball to raise funds for the campaign in December 2021 but the public health risk did not allow the company to hold the event as anticipated, and so a new date was set for 26 February 2022. In the course of planning, it was agreed that this activity would be placed under the auspices of the Asaase Foundation as a CSR initiative. The station has been engaged to raise funds for the campaign and purchasing dialysis machines.

The invitation-only #AsaaseKidneyCare charity ball in February was a resounding success. Buoyed by other efforts from staff of the Foundation and the radio station, Asaase managed to raise over GHC1 million for kidney health care at the first attempt. Dialysis suites have been acquired, donated and installed at two facilities in areas of Ghana where specialised renal services are very hard to find: Sunyani Regional Hospital in the Bono Region and Wa Regional Hospital in the Upper West.

The Foundation plans further programmes to fundraise for equipment in other underserved parts of the country. It is also promoting a campaign to fight against the growing problem of plastic waste in Ghana.

The Asaase Foundation is a company limited by guarantee.

Its president is Kojo Mensah.