First Lady rallies support for maternal healthcare in Ghana

The First Lady, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has appealed to every well-meaning Ghanaian to find space to contribute towards improving maternal healthcare in the country.
The state of things at many of the maternal health facilities, she noted, was not the best, making it difficult to efficiently deal with emerging challenges.
She said this, if left to persist, could make the nation’s efforts at achieving the sustainable development goal (SDG) on health – bringing down maternal and child mortality struggle.
Mrs. Akufo-Addo was addressing a fund-raising ceremony in aid of the Mother and Baby Unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH).
The event, which was under the patronage of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, was held at the Manhyia Palace by the ‘Rebecca Foundation Initiative’, an NGO, she has founded.
Dubbed “Save a mother, save a child”, it brought together, chiefs, politicians and captains.
Mrs. Akufo-Addo said ensuring quality healthcare for mothers and their babies was a shared responsibility and that all should accept to have a part to play.
In excess 10,000 deliveries are recorded at KATH, the second largest referral facility, annually, and it has been seeing between 10 and 15 referral cases, daily.
Owing to the lack of space, there is severe congestion at the labour ward, something that has been fueling cross infection.
Mrs. Akufo-Addo said the extent of overcrowding there was deeply troubling and could not continue.
She vowed to remain unswerving in her campaign to help bring change, to make things better.   She spoke of the need to prioritize reproductive health in general, adding that, its neglect would have consequences.
Ghana has been battling to reduce its high maternal and child mortality rates, currently put at 319 per 100, 000 and 60 per 1, 000 live births, respectively.
The First Lady announced that funds raised would go into the construction of an emergency maternity unit at KATH to expand the facilities for effective healthcare delivery.
Work on this project is expected to take four months to complete.
The wife of the Asnatehene, Lady Julia Osei Tutu, applauded Mrs. Akufo-Addo for the bold initiative and said it was a noble cause that should be supported by everybody.
GNA

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