How former broadcaster is redefining maternal care, hospital detentions after birth

By Kingsley Webora TANKEH

Thirteen years ago, Vanessa Gyan arrived in Ghana from the US, hoping to build a career in media. She started her career at eTV and YFM. She later secured a job at one of the fastest growing Media Houses, EIB Network, but got laid off after two years in the plum and left to wonder the earth.

As the old adage: “Man proposes, God disposes” has it: humans make plans, but the ultimate outcome depends on divine will, beyond our control.

Vanessa Gyan, the founder of the Sincerely Vee Foundation, speaking exclusively to the Business and Financial Times (B&FT) in Accra said her first pregnancy exposed her to the critical gaps in maternal health care in the country, which prompted her to try and support mothers.

She said her foundation’s very first event at Ridge Hospital in 2017 was “when I learned more about mothers being detained at hospitals”. “At that moment, the women who spoke on the panel, we all came together, and we were able to discharge, I think it was two moms that day,” she explained.

What begun with a single act of compassion, helping to raise funds to secure the release of the mothers detained for non-payment of bills, has grown into a support system for mothers.

According to her, this experience shaped the focus of her foundation. Unlike traditional NGOs that schedule periodic outreach events, she said the Sincerely Vee Foundation operates a responsive intervention system.

Currently based at the Ogbojo Polyclinic, the organization assists mothers throughout their prenatal care journey, provides care packages, and pays discharge bills on need basis.

“If you called me today and said there’s a mom who needs to be discharged, I would find a way to make sure the mom and the baby are discharged,” she stated.

Ms. Gyan said her foundation has touched the lives of a more than two thousand mothers since its inception.

She said she is building something far more enduring: a lifeline for mothers who face the prospect of leaving the hospital without their babies – not because they are unwell, but because they are unable to pay.

Ms. Gyan is the only daughter of the late Kiki Gyan, piano prodigy and former member of popular Ghanaian rock band, Osibisa.

The transparency currency

Ms. Gyan spent nearly a decade filling the gaps in the maternal health system in the country, blending direct aid, business innovation, and transparency to protect donor support.

Having been laid off from full-time media employment, she pivoted to private production and social enterprise with a clear ethos: show the work. “People think, ‘Oh, what are you going to be using your money for?’ But I’ve been able to gain unlimited trusted support,” she noted, citing long-term backers like Ghandour Cosmetics and individual patrons who respond to her social media appeals for specific aid.

As a producer, she created the reality series Modern Day Mom of Accra (aired on DGN) and hosts the 100% Mommyfied podcast.

She further noted that this level of accountability has transformed her social media platform into a crowdfunding tool, saying a call for assistance on X (formerly known as Twitter) can yield enough funds to clear a bill or secure essential baby supplies within hours.

While Sincerely Vee Foundation addresses financial distress, Ms. Gyan simultaneously created a commercial ecosystem – Modern Day Moms – to help middle-class mothers navigate the complexities of modern parenthood in Accra.

Launched in 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdowns, the Modern-Day Moms initiative evolved from virtual Zoom happy hours into a community, offering brunches, masterclasses, and a curated retail shop.

Her passion led her to train to become a certified Doula – a non-medical birth advocate and coach – with the ambition to eventually open a dedicated postpartum facility in the country.

“A postpartum facility would be the ultimate dream. Where moms, after they deliver, for two weeks, they can go there, relax. Everything is taken care of for them,” she said. She is set to graduate and be certified in three months.

Doulas serve as advocates, ensuring that a mother’s birth plan is respected and that she has continuous support, including emotional, through labor and the postpartum transition. The role is distinct from the medical duties of a midwife or obstetrician.

Ms. Gyan said her aim is to help bridge the knowledge gap she noticed, especially for first time mothers, comparing her prenatal experiences in Ghana with those in New York. “Nobody tells you what you’re signing up for. So having that emotional support also, someone you can talk to, confide in. I think it’s very important,” she said.

The former broadcaster said she is preparing for her foundation’s next baby shower in July at Ogbojo and looks toward expanding operations beyond the Greater Accra Region.

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