Mary Ankrah, Ajumako, Central Region
THE Chiefs and people of Ajumako Enyan-Essiam (AEED) District in the Central Region have held a one-day brainstorming session to deliberate on the high rate of maternal and infant deaths in the district.
The forum was organised by Hope For Future Generation (HFFG), an NGO that is partnering with Simavi of the Netherlands to improve access to basic health services in the district.
The AEED is known to have a high rate of child births, with adolescents comprising a significant number of the births.
According to the deputy Director of Nursing Services, Health Directorate in Ajumako, Ms Elizabeth Quaye, said out of the 3,975 antenatal registrants for 2011, 699 were adolescents.
Another worrying concern for Ms Quaye is that a large proportion of pregnant women still prefer to seek the services of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), sometimes with disastrous results.
She explained that out of the total delivery of 2,502, recorded that same year, 243 were by TBAs and stressed that efforts were being made to reduce this through meetings with the TBAs and educating them on the need for every woman to have skilled delivery.
The HFFG initiative in the district is therefore a call for action to reduce maternal deaths through dialogue, advocacy and communal social mobilisation and to ensure commitment, societal change and increased resources in support of maternal health.
The project titled “Advocacy for allocation of resources to reduce maternal and child mortality” is a three-year project being implemented in 35 communities.
Addressing participants at the brainstorming session, the Project Coordinator of HFFG, Mrs Cecilia Senoo, explained that the project had contributed to a four per cent reduction in child mortality in the area.
She was of the view that the situation regarding maternal, child and neonatal health in the area is still grave and must be tackled to save lives.
Mrs Senoo, therefore, made a passionate call on the government to resource NGOs and other stakeholders to advocate and educate women more on the issue, particularly those in the rural areas.
Other women, traditional rulers and the media, she emphasised, should also be resourced to join in the crusade to prevent pregnancy-related deaths.
“ Ghana should not continue to depend on international organisations to provide the resources to save our women. It is time for a more concerted effort and greater action”, said Mrs Senoo.
“She said “for every Ghanaian, the death of a woman during birth must be considered a tragedy. Ghanaians should no longer afford to sit and watch women and children die from conditions which are preventable”.
Mrs Senoo was optimistic that HFFG would contribute to reduce maternal and child deaths in the district and ultimately make a positive impact on the country’s effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goal four and five, by year 2015.
The Chief of Ajumako-Essaman area, Nana Amankwa XI, who participated in the meeting, said the HFFG project in the district had yielded positive results.
A typical example, he stated, was the growing awareness in the community on the importance of seeking skilled delivery during child birth.
Nana Amankwa said on few occasions, he had to personally intervened when some women who had gone to deliver with the TBA ended up with complications, and had to be quickly referred to a health facility.
Adwoa Nyamekye, a community member recounted the many maternal and child deaths in the community which could have been averted if they had the right knowledge.
She noted that in recent times, the TBA made appropriate referrals of cases to the health facility and this had contributed to the reduction in maternal deaths.
Nyamekye pledged the community’s support to ensure that the HFFG project was successfully implemented in the area.
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