Targeted interventions helping to reduce maternal deaths by 30 per cent at KATH – Deputy Health Minister

The Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah, has said targeted interventions have helped the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi for instance to reduce maternal deaths by 30 per cent in recent months.

She attributed the reduction to a mentorship programme for doctors performing caesarean sections at lower-level health facilities and a virtual labour room through which specialists guided midwives remotely.

Dr Ayensu-Danquah said the Ministry wanted the interventions adopted nationwide under a common plan to improve maternal healthcare.

Speaking during a meeting of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday, October 19, 2026, Dr Ayensu-Danquah said a total of 445 maternal deaths had been recorded in Ghana by mid-year 2026, compared to a total of 419 during the same period in 2025.

According to her, the slight increase is why the Ministry of Health has called for dedicated budget funding and National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) coverage for pregnant women’s critical care.

She described maternal mortality as Ghana’s worst-performing health indicator, with the national rate standing at 234 deaths per 100,000 live births, more than three times the World Health Organisation (WHO) target of 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.

“Behind every number is a woman, a family,” Dr Ayensu-Danquah told the committee.

She said the Ministry has identified three major challenges contributing to maternal deaths. They include the failure to identify high-risk women, particularly those with hypertension or severe anaemia, at the primary healthcare level, delays and breakdowns in the referral and ambulance system, and shortages of blood, ventilators and intensive care facilities at secondary and tertiary hospitals.

Dr Ayensu-Danquah said delays in accessing emergency care often determined whether a woman survived before she reached a teaching hospital.

“In critical care we speak of the golden hour, the first 60 minutes after injury. If a woman waits 48 hours for an ambulance at the primary level, the outcome is already decided,” she said.

She identified early detection of anaemia as one of the measures needed to reduce maternal deaths. She also urged health workers to recognise pica, a condition characterised by cravings for non-food items such as chalk or ice, as a possible sign of an underlying health problem.

Dr Ayensu-Danquah further stressed the need for high-risk pregnant women to deliver at facilities equipped to manage complications rather than at Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds without the required capacity.

Ahead of the 2027 Budget, the Ministry is seeking a dedicated budget allocation for maternal health to address what it describes as fragmented funding from non-governmental organisations and development partners.

It is also pushing for the NHIS to cover critical care for pregnant women, including intensive care, oxygen, blood and specialist interventions.

Interventions

The Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, Abena Osei-Asare, said the committee would present the Auditor-General’s performance audit report on maternal mortality when Parliament resumed sitting.

She said the report’s recommendations would inform discussions on the national budget.

“We will support the Ministry in speaking to the Finance Minister to ensure some dedicated level of funding is given to maternal mortality healthcare in this country,” she said.

Dr Ayensu-Danquah warned that without further action, Ghana risked maintaining a high maternal mortality rate beyond 2030.

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“If we don’t do this, we will still be at 200-and-something in 2030. Our women are needlessly dying. Most of these deaths are preventable,” she said.