Awutu-Senya District Health Directorate records zero maternal mortality

The Awutu-Senya District, Public Health facilities have recorded zero Institutional Maternal and Adolescent Mortalities from 2017 to 2019.

Dr Mrs Patricia Antwi, Awutu-Senya District Health Director announced this at a Performance Review Meeting for the year 2019 at Awutu Bereku.

The Directorate has five Sub-District Health Directorates (Awutu Bereku, Bontrase, Bawjiase, Papaase and Senya), 25 Community based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) Compounds, three Private Maternity and three Private Health facilities under it.

She said, even though it made outstanding achievements during the year under review, the personnel have not been complacent but continued to execute their duties fairly to maintain and improve on their performances.

According to Dr. Antwi, the directorate recorded three stillbirths in 2019 against zero in 2018 and five in 2017,

The Out Patient Department (OPD) attendance for Non-Insured Clients increased from 36,251 in 2018 to 76,129 in 2019 while Insured Clients also increased from 39,878 in 2018 to 84,954 in 2019.

She indicated that, Institutional Malaria for under five case fatality and malaria mortality rates recorded in the district was Zero, Non-polio AFP rate stood at two from 2017-2019, while newly enrolled in HIV care started on TB preventive therapy reduced from nine in 2018 to two in 2019.

Malaria continued to top the first ten OPD cases with 29,215 representing 32.5 per cent in 2018 and 28,525 cases in 2019 representing 41.6 per cent, followed by Upper Respiratory Tract Infections of 12,081 cases in 2018 and 9,730 cases in 2019, she stated.

The District Director stated further that, ART coverage rate increased from 75.5 per cent in 2018 to 76.2 per cent in 2019, Family planning acceptor rate increased from 27.0 per cent in 2018 to 30.6 per cent in 2019 while the proportion of deliveries attended by trained heath workers reduced from 3,295 representing 81.1 per cent in 2018 to 3,229 representing 78.2 per cent in 2019.

She said during the period, they embarked on a number of Health Education on communicable, non-communicable, reproductive health, Nutrition, Child Health, Personal Hygiene Mental Health and also trained and engagements with their volunteers among other that had positive results on their service delivery.

She mentioned increase in FP coverage, from 27.0 per cent, Penta 3 coverage, No Maternal Morbidity reported, ongoing Healthy Life Clinic with the Elderly, Sustained Free Family Planning Services without external support and Strengthening of Adolescent Club at Winton in Bereku and Bawjiase Senior High Schools as some of the achievements during the period.

Dr. Antwi enumerated some challenges hindering quality healthcare services delivery in the District to include; Poor state of infrastructure at some CHPS Zones, inadequate security in many CHPS Zones, Faulty Vaccine Fridges and its regular supply of essential logistics for activities.

Others are inadequate staff for service delivery, refusal of some parents and guardians to complete all doses of malaria vaccine and the National Health Insurance Authority’s indebtedness to health facilities.

With regard, she called for more efforts from all stakeholders to improve health care services and take pragmatic measures to address their challenges.

The Sub-districts should also intensify prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases, and improve maternal health services, including adolescent health.

Mr. Stephen Kwame Quaye, Awutu-Senya District Chief Executive, applauded the District Directorate for its numerous successes regardless of the challenges and emphasized the need for them to continue to be committed and dedicated in the execution of their duties to ensure efficient and quality healthcare delivery in the District.

He assured that the Assembly would continue to provide the needed support to the various health facilities in the area to discharge their duties without any hindrance.