Kokrokoo Charities Installs 31st incubator at 37 Military Hospital

The Kokrokoo Charities Foundation in collaboration with the 1982 year Group of the Garrison Primary School, Burma Camp, have installed a 10,000 dollar incubator at the 37 Military Hospital to aid in saving the lives of pre mature babies.

The donation and installation of the incubator falls within the “Project 100” initiative, a social intervention being implemented by the Kokrokoo Charities Foundation for pre-term and pre-mature babies and their families.

Mr Francis Ayisi, President of the 1982 Garrison Primary Year Group, said most of the old students were born at the 37 Military Hospital and also stayed within the Burma camp community with their soldier parents, and that alone obligated them to support the Project 100 initiative, to donate especially to the 37 Military Hospital.

Ms Ellen Lokko, a member of the Group, urged all in well –to-do positions to help assist hospitals in need since government alone could not do it.

Ms Albeta Gyepi-Garbrah, Deputy Director for Nursing Services, 37 Military Hospital, said the incubator had come at such a prime time, which usually characterized many births, especially when festive occasions like Christmas was marked about seven months.

“From this time up to September, October, November, we expect many births including pre-terms according to the birth calendar” she said.

“In the next few months we are expecting many children to be born and preterm as well. So this incubator comes at a time that is very appropriate.

She said the incubator would add up to the few that the Hospital had, and would also help increase the survival rate of preterm babies that were delivered or admitted at the Neonatal Unit.

Mr Kwame Safa Kayi, President of the Kokrokoo Charities Foundation and a Radio Presenter at Peace FM, said by collaborating with well-meaning corporate entities and individuals, both home and abroad, “Project 100 aims to purchase and donate 100 infant incubators to hospitals across the country by the end of 2019.

“We have already installed and handed over 31 infant incubators to 20 hospitals across 10 regions.”

He said the next hospitals to benefit from the Project would be the KNUST Hospital and Agogo Government Hospital in the Ashanti Region.

Mr Sefa Kayi said through the project, he hoped to “give mothers hope and keep children alive, while generating considerable empathy and funds from the general public and corporate world in support of newborn health.

He was called on Ghanaians home and abroad to help build a more socially committed and caring attitude towards newborn health.

The Project was initiated in 2014 with the goal of raising funds to purchase a total of 100 incubators for health facilities across the country.

Mr Dennis Adu-Twum, Programmes Director, Kokrokoo Charities Foundation, said the initiative was to help “fight the high rate of infant mortality

He thanked organizations and individuals, who have generously given “their time, monies and other resources,” towards the project, adding that within the next five months, “we hope to have met 50 percent of our goal, thereby, increasing the beneficiaries of Project 100- Hospitals with neonatal intensive care units across Ghana to drastically reduce preterm deaths.

A UNICEF statistics had revealed that about 140,000 children were born premature in Ghana annually, and the over 8,000 of these children die before 30 days.