Source: AllAfrica
Ghana has made significant progress in increasing access and utilisation of maternal health services. And although statistics from the Ghana Health Services (GHS) show some reduction in Maternal Mortality ratio of 740 per 100000 lives birth in 1990, to 590 in 1996 with a further reduction of 540 in 200, to 541 in 2005 and finally to 350 in 2010, the reducing trend falls short of the 5.5 percent annual decline required to achieve Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of 185 per 100,000 by 2015.
The decline has been attributed to the lack of allocation of resources to deserved communities as well as the neglect of some components in the fight against Maternal Mortality.
To this end, Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), in collaboration with the White Ribbon Alliance, the University of Southhampton and partners last Friday in Accra launched the Atlas of Birth.
The Atlas of Birth is a comprehensive and clear guide on the national picture of maternal health. This includes maps, graphics as well as stories from across the country.
It also provides and describes key facts on maternal health with brief profiles and indicators in the simplest forms of explanation to both policy makers and the general public at large.
Speaking at the launch, the Executive Director of ARHR, Madam Vicky Okine, said Ghana was one of the first developing countries to ratify international conventions such as the International Conference on Population and Development, the Maputo Plan of Action, the Abuja target of allocating at least 15percent of national budget to health, and the Campaign to Accelerate Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa, yet projected figures on reducing maternal and child mortality in those documents remain unattainable .
Consequently, unmet need for family planning remains at a high of 35percent, skilled delivery at 58.7 percent, acute shortage of midwives persist while health staff remains inequitably distributed with 43percent of doctors in Greater Accra Region and four percent for the three Northern Regions.
Madam Okine insisted, "As a nation, we need to take positive actions by on promises made on maternal mortality by investing in women and children's health care."
She believed the Atlas of Birth would be a guiding tool for research and reference point of action for policy makers to help improve maternal health in Ghana.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Honorable Minster for Health, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, recalled that over the years, his outfit has implemented many initiatives aimed at improving maternal and child health in Ghana, demonstrating the Ministry's commitment to improving maternal health. He said in 2007, Maternal Mortality was accordingly declared an emergency.
He pointed out that in Ghana and Africa in general, many women die from a range of pregnancy-related complications, childbirth or the post partum period.
According to him, about 80 percent of maternal deaths occur as a result of severe bleeding, infections, hypertensive disorders (eclampsia), obstructed labour and unsafe abortions. The remaining 20% are from diseases such as malaria, anaemia and HIV.
There are also demand factors and these include illiteracy, negative cultural beliefs and norms, lack of female assertiveness in health decision making and low socioeconomic status of females.
However, these complications and consequent deaths can be prevented through well functioning health systems, infrastructure, investments in family planning and human and financial resources that meet specific health challenges of populations in underserved areas.
Hon. Bagbin disclosed that the Ministry has formulated various reproductive health policies and initiatives including Population Policy, Reproductive Health Service Policy and Standards, Adolescent Reproductive Health Policy, National HIV/AIDS and STI Policy, Safe Motherhood Protocols to address the challenge.
Others are the Ghana National Contraceptive Security Strategy, Road Map for Repositioning family Planning in Ghana, Road Map for Accelerating the attainment of the MDGs Related to Maternal and Newborn Health in Ghana, and increase in the number of midwifery training schools.
Hon. Bagbin stated that, despite all these interventions, Ghana's maternal health outcome has not changed significantly in the last two decades. Although Ghana's maternal mortality ratio reduced from 540/100 000 in 2000, to 451/100 000 in 2007 to 350/100 000 in 2008, the reduction is estimated to be at a rate of 3.3% annually compared to 5.5% annual rate required to attain MDG 5 target of 185/100 000 by 2015(WHO, World Bank, UNFPA report on trend on MM, 2008). This means that Ghana is tottering on the brink of not realizing MDG 5 by 2015.
"It is in this regard, that the importance of reproductive health documents such as the Atlas of Birth, aimed to reduce maternal mortality, cannot be over-emphasized."
On his part, Dr Bernard Coquelin, a representative of the United Nations Population Fund, said the Atlas of Birth was a welcoming addition to the global and national efforts towards the accelerated reduction of maternal mortality at all levels.
He noted that, over 350,000 women worldwide die yearly mainly from preventable maternal death. In Ghana, it translates to one maternal death per each of the ten regions per day per annum.
Dr Coquelin stated, "Certainly, we cannot look on unconcerned without putting in place a mechanism to arrest these needless and avoidable death.
"We know that access to family planning services is key and mandatory, however, for reasons that cannot be explained, many developing countries including Ghana, which contribute to over 99 percent of these maternal death do not have effective system in place to address these issues."