Sunyani West municipality records zero maternal deaths in last 5 years

The Sunyani West Municipality in the Bono Region has recorded zero cases of maternal mortality over the past five years.

This achievement aligns with one of the key objectives of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, which aims to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates.

Daniel Konka, the Sunyani West Municipal Director of the Ghana Health Service, told Citi News in an interview on Thursday that the feat was possible due to some strategies put in place by the directorate.

“Maternal mortality is a high priority for the UN in terms of the SDGs, and the Bono Region is also battling with maternal deaths. However, in my municipality, Sunyani West, we have consistently been able to avoid maternal deaths for some time now due to certain strategies that management has put in place. One of these strategies is recognizing that we have more facilities in rural areas, and we needed to lobby the regional health directorate to post staff to these facilities so that they can provide antenatal, maternal, and child health services.”

“We also recognize that it is not enough to just get the staff and post them there; we also need to provide them with basic training so that they can identify danger signs during antenatal care and quickly refer patients.”

Mr Konka also said they met patients halfway by visiting them in their homes due to the distance.

“So our nurses intensified home visits where they are able to identify mothers that are pregnant and take them through antenatal care period and those that have danger signs immediately they refer them for further management. And then management having recognised that science, we visit them to support them by providing them with training in areas where we think they are lacking,” he added.

Credit: Citi News