Ghana recorded 986 maternal deaths in 2024, with the Ashanti Region accounting for the highest number, prompting renewed calls for urgent action to prevent women from dying during pregnancy and childbirth.
Deputy Minister for Health, Dr Grace Ayensu Dankwah, said maternal mortality remained a major measure of how effectively Ghana’s health system responds to the needs of women.
She made the remarks during a two-day official visit to the Ashanti Region as part of the third phase of the Ministry of Health’s Regional Ecosystem Assessment Visits under the Maternal Mortality Action and Response Programme (MMARP).
The programme is being used to identify weaknesses in maternal healthcare and develop a national roadmap aimed at reducing preventable deaths.
The assessment is examining issues including the availability of emergency obstetric care, referral systems, gaps in health service delivery, community-level barriers and the commitment of key stakeholders.
At the Ashanti Regional Health Directorate, Dr Ayensu Dankwah met the Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Fred Adomako Boateng, members of the Senior Management Committee, district directors of health services, medical directors, medical superintendents and other health workers.
She disclosed that Ghana’s maternal mortality ratio stood at 235 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2024.
According to her, maternal mortality remained high in 11 regions, with Ashanti currently recording the highest number of maternal deaths.
“Maternal mortality is a reflection of the robustness of our health system,” she said, stressing that government, health workers, communities and other stakeholders needed to work together to address the problem.
Dr Ayensu Dankwah said the regional assessments were intended to provide a clearer picture of the challenges facing maternal healthcare and help shape a practical national plan for action.
Referral pressure
During a courtesy call on the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, the minister emphasized the pressure placed on the region’s major referral facilities by patients from neighbouring regions and districts.
He said many complicated cases were referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, placing additional pressure on the facility.
Dr Amoakohene called for more sub-regional health facilities and the upgrading of existing ones to ensure that women could receive emergency obstetric care closer to their communities.
He also disclosed that 73 health facilities were expected to be constructed across the region as part of efforts by local government authorities to expand access to healthcare.
The Regional Minister further called for more training for traditional birth attendants so they could play a safer and more effective role in efforts to prevent maternal deaths at community level.
The Deputy Minister later engaged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, religious and traditional leaders, health facility representatives, the Christian Health Association of Ghana, private healthcare providers and other stakeholders at the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council.
The meeting gave participants an opportunity to identify local challenges that contribute to maternal deaths and discuss practical ways of addressing them.
The findings from the Ashanti Region are expected to feed into the national roadmap for reducing maternal mortality and help guide efforts to ensure that fewer women die from preventable causes during pregnancy and childbirth.
