The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Sunyani Municipal Hospital urgently needs five incubators, fire flyers and transcutaneous bilirubin meters to prevent newborn deaths.

Mrs Christiana Ayamga, a Nurse in-charge of the Unit, said only one of the two incubators was functioning, though the Unit continued to report cases of new born morbidities.

She also appealed for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Machines (CPAP) to enhance their work.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Sunyani on Thursday, she said the Unit recorded 10 cases of asphyxia and nine premature births last month.

Mrs Ayamga made the appeal when Madam Justina Owusu-Banahene, the Bono Regional Minister, visited the Hospital to assess operations of the newly-constructed Maternity Block and to interact with pregnant women and nursing mothers.

There was one baby at the NICU placed under an improvised CPAP machine that enabled the baby to obtain the required amount of pressure to survive.

Madam Owusu-Banahene expressed discomfort about the situation and appealed to non-governmental organisations, philanthropists, religious and corporate bodies to go to the Hospital's aid.

She commended the health officials for their selfless services and asked them to build healthy relationships with the mothers and clients to aid their treatment processes.

Dr Helena Alabomo Aboakai, the Acting Medical Superintendent of the Hospital, expressed appreciation to the Regional Minister for the visit and appealed to her to lobby for incubators and related medical devices for the NICU.