By Seth Opoku Agyemang -Sunyani
The Kokrokoo Charities Foundation has presented two incubators worth $20,000 to the Paediatric Unit of Brong Ahafo regional hospital in Sunyani, to help cater for premature and neonatal babies at the hospital.
The Sunyani donation adds up to a total of nineteen (19) incubators so far that has been donated and installed by the Kokrokoo Charities Foundation under its Project 100 incubators programme.
The Project 100 incubators programme, is being undertaken by Kwami Sefa Kayi, to help promote the health of newly born babies in the country.
Speaking after the handover of the incubators, the Programmes Manager of Kokrokoo Charities Foundation,Dennis Adutwum, said the incubators being donated fell under the “Giving hope to mothers, Keeping Children Alive” campaign, championed by the foundation and aimed at raising funds to purchase and install 100 incubators in Neonatal Intensive Care Units ( NICUs) of health facilities nationwide.
Amongst the beneficiary hospitals, he said, were: Prestea Government Hospital in the Western Region, La General Hospital, and the Police Hospital, all in the Greater Accra Region, Nsawam Government Hospital in the Eastern Region, Cape Coast Teaching Hospital in the Central Region, Tamale Teaching Hospital at the Northern Region, Volta Regional Hospital popularly known as Trafalgar, in the Volta Region, Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Sekondi western Region, Tema General Hospital Greater Accra and now Brong-Ahafo Regional Hospital in Sunyani.
Mr. Adutwum said the foundation raises funds through individual support and that of corporate organisations, and uses it to purchase the incubators.
Mr. Adutwum indicated that corporate donations, special initiatives and public funding mobilisation with code number ‘3322’ had yielded some positive results, although more needs to be done to achieve the 100 incubators target.
Dr Emmanuel Kofi Amponsah, the Medical Director of the Hospital received the incubators on behalf of the hospital and thanked the foundation for donating the incubators, which he indicated, would go a long way to save a number of lives of premature babies at the hospital.
Dr Amponsah said approximately, five (5) premature babies were delivered in the hospital daily and that sums to 1,825 annually.
He said the percentage of child deaths could be reduced if the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the hospital was well-equipped.
Dr Amponsah said, the referral hospital currently had only 4 incubators, two of them were donated by an NGO.
The Medical Director said the hospital needed at least 10 incubators to operate efficiently and save the lives of premature babies born at the facility, and appealed to government, individuals and organisations to assist it to procure more incubators.
