Second National Safe Motherhood Week launched

Wassa-Akropong (W/R) Oct.16 GNA- The second national Safe Motherhood week to raise awareness among Ghanaians about the prevailing high maternal mortality rate in the country was launched at Wassa-Akropong in the Wassa Amenfi District on Wednesday.

The occasion aimed at encouraging women to fully patronise available health services in order to prevent complications of pregnancy and delivery.

Wassa-Akropong was chosen for the launch of this year's scheme because of the exceptionally high maternal mortality ratio of 620 per 100,000 live births recorded in 2002.

The institutional maternal mortality ratio for the Western region for the same period was 240 per 100,000 live births, while the national ratio stands at 214 per 100,000 live births.

Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of Health in a speech read for him, noted that even though there had been steady decline in maternal deaths over the past two decades, the present ratio is still unacceptably high. He said Safe Motherhood, identified as one of the priority areas of the medium term health strategy, comprises various interventions to reduce drastically, maternal deaths and illness as well as to improve infant health.

Dr. Afriyie said the provision of Essential Obstetric Care nationwide, had been adopted by the government as one of the new approaches in the area of Safe Motherhood.

He said plans are underway to provide, for every 500,000 people, four health centres that would give basic essential obstetric care, and one district hospital that would provide comprehensive obstetric cases. The Health Minister said it was the determination of the government to evolve a better healthcare financing system to increase financial access to health services that the Health Insurance Bill was passed.

Dr. Afriyie said what remains, was for the various districts to draw up modalities for the implementation of the health scheme for the benefit of the people.

Mrs Gladys Asmah, Minister for Women and Children's Affairs in an address read for her, reminded the people that the policy of the government that exempts pregnant women from paying for up to four visits to antenatal clinic in district health facilities is still in force. Free delivery services are being provided for women in some regions where high rates of maternal deaths had been recorded consistently, she said adding that there were plans to extend this concession to the whole country.

"It is sad to note that many women die silently fulfilling their God given obligations to humanity even though this is preventable", Mrs Asmah said, and called for intensified education to check the high maternal mortality in the country.

She attributed this partly to outmoded customs and taboos, over reliance on people with inadequate knowledge on pregnancy and delivery issues and delays in going to hospitals due to poverty.

She said stakeholders including members of the private midwives association and private medical practitioners association are being involved actively in a number of health schemes to reverse the situation.

Mrs Asmah said the schemes would ensure that the present maternal mortality rate in the country was reduced by 75 per cent by 2015, adding that the problem of maternal mortality is a human rights issue.

Mr. Joseph Boahen Aidoo, Western Regional Minister said the government has come very far in the fulfilment of its promise to improve health delivery by the passage of the national health insurance bill. He, therefore, appealed to the people to subscribe to the scheme by joining any of the mutual health organisations by paying their premiums regularly.

"In this regard you can receive health care without any difficulty each time you fall sick, he said.

Hundreds of people including traders, farmers, school children and health workers paraded the streets with placards to create awareness about high maternal mortality in the district.