{
  "id": 789729,
  "title": "Ashanti Region tops maternal mortality rate list - Regional Health Directorate",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/ashanti-region-tops-maternal-mortality-rate-list-regional-health",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-13T17:48:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "3News",
    "slug": "3news",
    "url": "https://3news.com/news/ashanti-region-tops-maternal-mortality-rate-list-regional-health-directorate"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The Ashanti Region has recorded a maternal mortality ratio of 196.7 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2025, according to the Ashanti Regional Health Directorate. This represents a marginal increase from 195.6 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2024.\n\nThe region also has a high HIV prevalence among people who use drugs, with a rate of 6.6%, significantly higher than the national average of 1.4%. According to the Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission, Major General Maxwell Obuba Mantey, 16,300 people who use drugs are in the Ashanti Region, out of an estimated 82,500 in Ghana.\n\nMajor General Mantey also noted that 10% of people who use drugs begin before the age of 15, while 54% start before the age of 19. The substances used include heroin, cocaine, tramadol, and methamphetamine, excluding cannabis, which is described as the most abused drug in the country.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}