Friends of NICU

Supporting vulnerable families going through the NICU experience.

About Us

Friends of NICU was founded in September 2018 from the distant ordeal our founder Nana Afriyie experienced when she had her first child at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. The absence of a peer support group and community made the journey even more challenging to navigate in her NICU journey. The tough and traumatic journey led Nana to commit to helping parents who found themselves in the NICU in any way she could.

Through intentional advocacy, open conversations and engagements, her passion soon attracted others to come on board and share their stories. The impact of this social organization has its active presence currently in two regions of Ghana: Greater Accra and Bono East.

Problem

Around the world, one in ten babies are born prematurely, translating to Fifteen million children being born prematurely yearly. In Ghana, about 144,000 babies are born prematurely annually; out of this number, about 9,000 do not survive. Any baby born alive before 37 weeks gestation is considered Preterm. Some causes of premature birth could be traced to multiple pregnancies, infections, and chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Asamankese Hospital serves a catchment population of 125,244, stretching from Mepom to Asamankese with a bed capacity of 120. However, its NICU is under-resourced and needs equipping.

Mission

To connect the purple dots of a preemie parent to source a safe place of hope and fortitude through shared experiences. At Friends of NICU, we believe we can do this together with tailored support. We want to walk along this journey with you: “Let´s premiee together.”

Vision

To support the Ghanaian woman parent, especially women blessed with the purple journey. Creating an atmosphere on the path of prematurity and nurturing into giant miracles. Our purpose transcends to reaching the last woman at the four corners of rural and urban areas in Ghana and Africa at large.

Scope of work

All of our activities are voluntary based. At Friends of NICU, our support packages are curated with past NICU parents and professionals. However, we give the hospitals and parents the liberty to engage us based on their needs. A range of NICU Buddy/Peer Support, NICU Professional Support and tailored Care Packages carefully crafted to lessen the burden and make first-hand experiences every step of the way into giant miracles.

Value

1. Inclusive and Curated Programs: Programs that engage all caliber of people. Highlighting the quality and intentionality of support that we extend to parents and families. (An icon for this )

2. Empathy: Our story and history must translate in every action we undertake to communicate the right message across. (An icon for this )

3. Community Sensitive: Be agile to the sensitive situations as well as the impact we leave in the lives of the families we support. (An icon for this )