Hot!
Creating an enabling environment for premature babies’ survival – Naa Kuorkor Mayne-Eghan’s passion
● Naa Kuorko displaying an award
This week’s profile throws a spotlight on a distinguished lady whose passion is to ensure the wellness and healthy conditions of premature babies at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Ghana to survive.
As the saying goes, “it is not only giants that do great things”, Naa Kuorkor Mayne- Eghan’s story cannot be swept under the carpet.
Her passion-driven sense for seeing premature babies survive has been phenomenal through her constant advocacy and sensitisation about “Preterms lives matter” under the auspices of Jay Foundation over the years.
The selfless lady is undoubtedly a philanthropist and a leader who has carved a well-deserved reputation via her Non-Governmental Organisation with a stint of generosity, integrity, dedication and enviable accomplishment in the area of neonatal healthcare, especially the lives of preterms.
Representing the voice of the babies
Naa Kuorkor’s enthusiasm for advocating the wellness and survival of premature babies emanated as a result of experiencing the issue of giving birth to premature twins in America where one unfortunately passed away.
The aforementioned encounter traumatised her for a longer period irrespective of the counselling she received.
After the predicament, she returned to Ghana with the baby who survived and later decided to form a foundation that would serve as a mouthpiece for these fragile babies to have the best of care while striving to survive in the NICU.
According to the benevolent lady, it was very prudent to address issues of preterm babies as an issue of public health concern that require critical attention.
Naa Kuorkor underscored that, stakeholder engagement with health facilities should always come up with pragmatic measures to help create policies that would help in the survival of these vulnerable babies.
“Births that usually occur before the 37th week of pregnancy are usually considered preterms and such babies require an extraordinary treatment at the NICU to serve a term to fully survive as that of a full term.
Impact of Jay Foundation to premature babies
Shedding uncontrollable tears, she told The Spectator that, “in Ghana preterm babies do not get adequate care due to lack of space, facilities, and essentials needed to evade infection, which causes death.
The Jay Foundation since its inception in 2019 has made donations worth about GH¢500,000 to NICUs in 10 hospitals and other medical facilities in the country to support preterm babies, their mothers, and staff of the hospitals, including Tema General Hospital, Nsawam, Korle Bu, Shai Osudoku, Keta Hospitals, Battor Catholic, Wenchi Hospital, Bamboi Polyclinic, Banda District Hospital, Jama Polyclinic and recently donated to the Ho Teaching Hospital.
Items donated included vegetables, fruits, digital thermometers, digital weighing scales, suction machines, pulse oximeters, nasal prongs, baby cots, cot sheets, bedsheets, drip stands, kangaroo Mother Care clothes, baby wipes, napkins, sanitisers, baby clothing, cleaning materials, among others.
“We are the voice of these precious ones and we encourage all to help these miracle babies survive, they didn’t ask to be born that way”, she bemoaned.
Naa Kuorkor stressed that, Life was a struggle and preterm babies started theirs right at birth, and what the little Jay Foundation could do was to make them comfortable and feel the love and support they deserve.
She commended her team members for their support to make successful projects and accomplishment with an aim of reducing the high mortality rate of neonates in the short term.
“Limited space is one of the major problems with all the facilities listed above except Korle Bu. But they also need an expansion looking at their numbers”, she noted.
These problems, she stated were associated with risks that included high infection rate, high mortality, no or little education on how to handle Neonates, less medical equipment, unclean environment and inadequate cleaning materials, inadequate NICU staff, poor ventilation, limited space for babies and mothers, no physical therapy at home after discharge just mention but a few.
“This year, we are putting up proper structures for Mother and babies, Mothers’ hostels and NICU’s and since we noticed that education is key we finally have an Educational Documentary on Prematurity in Ghana”, she highlighted.
Recognition/ Background
She has been awarded both locally and internationally for her sterling performances in helping create a safer haven for premature babies in Ghana.
Naa Kuorkor was born and raised by Mr. Benjamin Nii Aryeetey Aryee, a prominent contractor and Mrs. Esther Aryee, a retired Bio-Chemist who worked with the United Nations and Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. She classified them as disciplinarians.
She is the first born and has three siblings.
Naa Kuorkor Mayne-Eghan was a Corporate Relationship Manager/ Banking Officer with Cal Bank for over eight years and currently the Chief Executive Office (CEO) of a Financial and Marketing Consultancy, Korghan Limited. She is again the CEO of Lingerie Picante.
She completed her basic education at St. Martin de Porres at Dansoman-Accra, and is an old girl of Wesley Girls’ High School, Cape Coast. She has a graduate Degree in Social Sciences from KNUST, a Master’s Degree in Finance from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.
Naa Kuorkor is a mother of two, and a ‘Mummy’ to all, with personal premature birth and preterm babies experience; prefers to channel her ‘calling’ to help make others going through the same experience happy and less traumatised.
Interests
The Wesleyan who speaks Ga, Fante, Twi, English and French loves to play Basketball and recounted that she was the Basketball captain during her secondary school days at Wesley Girls’ High School and they won most of their interschool trophies.
Naa Kuorkor’s fondness for children is very strong and also likes to swim, travel and watch movies during her leisure.
She commended all her sponsors for the great support given to her and called for God’s grace to continually be with them.
She admonished families to support preterm mothers and advised society never to associate premature babies with bad spirits.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS
You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.
Join our WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
Intercity STC Coaches Limited has interdicted a driver captured in a viral video allegedly hitting a Sprinter bus during an overtaking manoeuvre at Pokuase before driving away from the scene.
In a public notice, the company described the driver’s conduct as unacceptable, stressing that it did not reflect the safety standards and professionalism it upholds.
Management said it had commenced an immediate investigation into the incident and identified the driver, who has been interdicted pending the outcome of the disciplinary process.
The company added that it was awaiting an official report from the Pokuase Police Command to help establish the facts surrounding the incident.
STC reaffirmed its commitment to passenger safety and responsible road use, while thanking members of the public for bringing the incident to its attention.
Management assured the public that appropriate action would be taken following the investigation.
By: Jacob Aggrey
