Advisor on Gender and Social Protection to Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Akosua Manu, has called for a stronger and sustained national response to Ghana’s maternal mortality crisis.
Her comments come ahead of the launch of the Presidential Initiative on Maternal Health Emergency Response (PRIMER) on Monday, September 14.
Welcoming the initiative in a social media post, Akosua Manu, popularly known as Kozie, said the scale of the crisis requires more than announcements.
“This is an important step, and I welcome it. The scale and persistence of preventable maternal deaths require a response that is comprehensive, evidence-based and sustained,” she said.
Referencing a three-year study conducted at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital between January 2021 and December 2023, and published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, she cited a maternal mortality ratio of 801 deaths per 100,000 live births recorded at the facility over the period.
“This is a gap that reflects the urgent need to strengthen our emergency obstetric care and maternal health systems,” she said.
Kozie also renewed her call for a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry into preventable maternal deaths, saying it could help identify systemic gaps and strengthen accountability.
“The response to this crisis must be national in scope and bipartisan in spirit,” she added.
She said the New Patriotic Party would support credible initiatives that advance the health, dignity and wellbeing of women and children.
“Our collective goal must be clear: no woman should die while giving life, and no child should lose a mother to a preventable cause.”
