Ghana’s maternal health success story at risk without rural incentives – UNFPA

Ghana’s strides in improving maternal health may be jeopardized unless targeted incentives are put in place to keep healthcare professionals stationed in rural areas, warned Dr Sennen Hounton, the Regional Director for West and Central Africa at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Addressing a national launch in Accra on September 14th, Dr Hounton highlighted that the reluctance of medical personnel to serve outside the capital city is hampering progress in reducing maternal mortality.

He noted that healthcare workers prefer to return to Accra due to the perceived ease of living there compared to remote locations like Tamale.

Dr Hounton emphasized the necessity for incentive packages to encourage healthcare workers to serve in underserved regions for extended periods. "There must be incentive package for people we send to the remote area to stay there two, three, four years, five years. There must be something in return," he stated. He pointed out that existing policies in Ghana and other countries in the region do not offer sufficient motivation for health workers to remain in these areas.

"You are civil servant, okay, we deploy you to that place. And so we are all looking for any opportunities to quickly come back," he added.

To address this issue, Dr Hounton called on countries across the region to implement formal bonding arrangements that provide financial or educational incentives for serving in challenging locations. "We are saying that we must, in all countries, have such bonding mechanism. I go there, but you give me, first, the salary you give me a top up as incentive.

And secondly, maybe if I finish my tour of duty, I got a scholarship to do some certificate. Basically, there are ways that we must encourage to do on behalf of the country, the work that needs to be done to save mothers and life."