By Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Accra, June 8, GNA – The Kokrokoo Charities Foundation has presented its 51st infant incubator valued at 10, 000 dollars to the Paediatric Unit of the Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal Assembly (LEKMA) Hospital to cater for premature and neonatal babies at the hospital.
The incubator adds up to a total of 51 incubators so far donated and installed by the Foundation under its Project 100 incubators programme.
The Project 100 incubators programme, is being undertaken by Mr Kwami Sefa Kayi, Founder of Kokrokoo Charities Foundation and host of the Kokrokoo Morning Show on Peace FM, an Accra-based radio station, to help promote the health of newly born babies in the country.
Ghana records about 140,000 preterm births annually, out of which 8,000 of them die before 30 days, a UNICEF report has indicated.
Project 100 was, therefore, designed to help champion the targeted strategy for accelerating a reduction of newborn deaths in Ghana.
Mr Dennis Adutwum, Programmes Director of Kokrokoo Foundation, said the LEKMA incubator was sponsored by HPT GEVAQ Gh. Limited, a company that produces engineering and maintenance services for FBSOs.
He acknowledged Dr Bernard Okoe-Boye, Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority and a former Member of Parliament for Ledzokuku for, “pushing for the incubator to be brought to the LEKMA Hospital.”
He said one other incubator had been purchased by the same company to be installed at the Dixcove Government Hospital in the Western Region.
Eight others would be donated to various hospitals to mark the birthday of Mr Kanyi, which falls on June 20.
The Reverend Gabriel Quain, General Manager, HPT-GEVAQ Gh Ltd, and Mrs Elizabeth Quain Osae, Administrator of the company, presented the incubator to the hospital authorities, saying the donation formed part of the company’s corporate social responsibility, under which it deemed fit to support the health care delivery of the two government hospitals to care for the people, especially preterm babies.
Ms Sekyiwa Darko, Head, of Community Relations, Petroleum Commission (PC), said the PC assisted the company in identifying LEKMA and the Dixcove hospitals after a needs assessment, and that the choice was to also ensure that the health needs of all Ghanaians, especially, those in the oil-producing communities were catered for.
Dr Akua Gyimah Asante, the Medical Superintendent of the LEKMA Hospital, thanked the Kokroko Charities Foundation for facilitating the incubators, which are “very useful to preserve the lives of the preterm babies, increasing their survival rate.”
She said the hospital requested the incubator about two years ago, and so they were happy that they had one more to augment the few ones that wear out too often.
“We have a lot of preterms coming in. If you look at our neonatal mortality, one of the causes of preterm death is prematurity… so using the incubator to maintain their temperature is definitely going to bring down our mortality rate,” Dr Asante said.
Hospitals that had benefitted from the Project 100 Incubators programme included the Police Hospital and the La General Hospital in Accra, the Prestea Government Hospital in the Western Region, the Nsawam Government Hospital in the Eastern Region, the Cape Coast Regional Hospital, Tamale Regional Hospital, among others.
The Foundation raises funds through individual support and corporate organisations, which it uses to purchase the incubators.
The distribution of the incubators was based on a survey carried out by the Ministry of Health, assessing the needs of the various hospitals in the country.
GNA