Maternal mortality costs the lives of 169 women in Brong Ahafo

Sunyani (B/A) June 20, GNA - The Brong Ahafo Region, lost 169 women within the last two years, through maternal mortality, Dr Emmanuel Kojo Tinkorang, Deputy Regional Director of Public Health said at the weekend.

He said 88 women died in 2007 and 81 in 2008, describing the figures as unacceptably high in comparative terms, because no woman is expected to lose her life at child birth. Dr Tinkorang explained that a lot of the women died from induced abortion while 11 lost their lives from abortion related complications. He attributed the mortality rate to inadequate human and material health resources and the uneven distribution in the region to cater for such cases.

Dr Tinkorang, who was speaking at a day's Civil Society Health Forum in Sunyani, said maternal mortality constituted an infringement of the basic fundamental human and health rights of women. The forum, which was on the theme: "The role of civil society organisations in bringing about equity in health delivery in Brong Ahafo," was organised by the Regional Chapter of Ghana Coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Health with sponsorship from the Royal Netherlands Embassy.

The programme provided a platform for civil society organisations to interact with state and other health providers, to facilitate a better understanding of the challenges facing the health sector in the region and to chart a common way forward in addressing them. He said the region was the second largest in the country in terms of geographical size with a population of 2.2 million, which spread across seven municipalities and 22 districts. It has a lot of inequity and disparity in health care delivery in relation to human and material resources.

Dr Tinkorang said there were only 80 doctors in the region with 50 per cent of them in Sunyani, Techiman and Berekum municipalities. Tain, Kintampo South, Asunafo South, Dormaa East and Sunyani West districts, have no hospitals whilst there is no doctor at Sene. To improve on the situation Dr Tinkorang suggested the need for the adoption and application of strategies like advocacy, networking, partnership, behavioural change communication, pre-service and in-service training among health workers, to offer them the knowledge and skills needed to strengthen monitoring and supervision on the field.

He noted that the traditional authorities, especially queenmothers could lead discussions on safe motherhood and educate adolescent girls about acts that are inimical to their growth and development. Dr Tinkorang called for political will at the local level to ensure the sustenance and success of such programmes. He said health and educational workers such as nurses and teachers should act as role models by leading exemplary lives for the youth to emulate. Mr. Kobina Afena-Sam Regional Chairman of Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health said the forum was the first of the two events scheduled for this year.