Upper West Regional Health Directorate records improvement in continuity of maternal care - Director
He said although antenatal care (ANC) registration declined during the period, there was an improvement in the continuity of maternal care, with increased attendance for the fourth ANC visit.
The government has announced plans to address maternal mortality, with the Deputy Health Minister stating that every pregnancy should be safe and every mother should return home with her newborn. The Ashanti Region in Ghana has been identified as having a high maternal mortality rate, accounting for almost a quarter of all national maternal deaths.
According to the Ashanti Regional Health Directorate, the region's maternal mortality ratio rose from 195.6 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2024 to 196.7 per 100,000 live births in 2025.
The Ashanti Region's maternal mortality ratio is almost three times above the Sustainable Development Goal 3 target of 70 deaths per 100,000 live births. The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital has recorded approximately 62% of maternal deaths in the region, with 92% of women who died there referred from outside the region, according to Ashanti Regional Health Director Dr Fred Adomako-Boateng.
The region's health delivery is under scrutiny, with issues including referral bottlenecks, peripheral staffing gaps, and structural delays contributing to the high maternal mortality rate.
Brief written by urgent.news from 3News, MyJoyOnline Ghana — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
