Reducing maternal and child mortality in rural Ghana

Abstract

The lack of health infrastructure in developing countries to provide women with modern obstetric care and universal access to maternal and child health services has largely contributed to the existing high maternal and infant deaths. Access to basic obstetric care for pregnant women and their unborn babies is a key to reducing maternal and infants´ deaths, especially at the community-level. This calls for the strengthening of primary health care systems in all developing countries, including Ghana. Financial access and utilization of maternal and child health care services need action at the community-level across rural Ghana to avoid preventable deaths. Financial access and usage of maternal and child health services in rural Ghana is poor. Lack of financial access is a strong barrier to the use of maternal and child health services, particularly in rural Ghana. The sustainability of the national health insurance scheme is vital in ensuring full access to care in remote communities.

How do we improve maternal and child health outcomes in Ghana?

“…The CHPS compounds in various communities served as the entry point to the primary healthcare system at the community level. Trained community health nurses ‘with basic knowledge in obstetrics were posted to the facilities to examine pregnant women, provided antenatal care, and assisted during labour or referred women to a more advance health centre for further management’, 6 p. 3.…”

“…With support from USAID, a successful initiative was created through a ‘WhatsApp platform to support the networks with appointed referral focal persons that ensured feedback and more coordinated follow‐up’ of pregnant women throughout the district for a period of 18 months, 19 p.1. In a related development, the Shai‐Osudoku District Hospital at Ayikuma in the Greater‐Accra Region also achieved zero maternal deaths for over 5 years through innovative healthcare delivery and continual training of staff as well as community health education 6 . These and other innovative policies and programs can be looked into by the GHS/MOH, and a collaborative partnership with international partners engendered for implementation to save Ghanaian women from preventable maternal deaths.…”

“…The CHPS programme was implemented by the MOH/GHS in 2000 to ensure access to maternal and child health services at the community level in their quest to attain the MDG 4 and 5 targets. 6,10,16 The operationalisation of CHPS promoted universal access to maternal and child healthcare services in rural Ghana. 16 The CHPS compounds in various communities served as the entry point to the primary healthcare system at the community level.…”

“…In a related development, the Shai-Osudoku District Hospital at Ayikuma in the Greater-Accra Region also achieved zero maternal deaths for over 5 years through innovative healthcare delivery and continual training of staff as well as community health education. 6 These and other innovative policies and programs can be looked into by the GHS/MOH, and a collaborative partnership with international partners engendered for implementation to save Ghanaian women from preventable maternal deaths.…”

“…underscored the poor quality of care as well as the non‐availability of care in some health centres as reasons for inconsistencies in progress made in maternal and infant deaths in LMICs. The lack of autonomy on the part of pregnant women to deliver in health institutions coupled with poor quality of care in traditional settings also account for these disparities, especially in the rural areas of LMICs 5,6,7 …”