The Government of Ghana has launched a nationwide tour aimed at tackling the country’s worrying maternal mortality rates, the Deputy Minister for Health, Hon. Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah, has announced.
Addressing the Parliamentary Committee on Economy and Development, Dr. Ayensu-Danquah revealed that investigations show many expectant mothers who lose their lives during childbirth had previously accessed healthcare but suffered from poor management.
“Most of these women that are passing away have actually seen a health professional so why is it that when it’s time to have the baby uh they are losing their lives,” she told the Committee.
According to the Deputy Minister, the ministry has identified two critical bottlenecks: the failure to detect high-risk pregnancies at the primary healthcare level and severely weak emergency referral systems.
“It is either an inability to identify high-risk patients at the primary care level so that we can put their care at the time of delivery at the appropriate level of care. now that becomes an emergency and as we have discussed over today the emergency response systems and the referrals there’s huge issues,” Dr. Ayensu-Danquah stated.
Government estimates indicate that maternal deaths could be slashed by 20 per cent almost immediately if healthcare facilities successfully identify high-risk cases early and refer them to the appropriate centres well before labour begins.
“if we are able to properly identify them at the primary care level and refer them appropriately before it’s time to have that baby so that is the uh what we are doing to fix that problem,” she added.
Dr. Ayensu-Danquah admitted that maternal mortality remains Ghana’s worst-performing health index. Consequently, the President has elevated the issue to a presidential initiative to ensure it receives the highest level of state attention.
“We are working with UNFPA on what we call PRIMA and the ministry itself is what uh PRIMA is Presidential Response to Maternal Emergency Response,” she said.
To ensure long-term change, the Ministry of Health is currently developing a National Maternal Mortality Action Response Plan (NMAP).
This programme aims to standardise maternal care across the country, incorporating strict quality control and quality assurance measures nationwide.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana