Omanghana
The Ashanti Region currently records the highest number of maternal deaths in Ghana, Deputy Minister for Health Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah has disclosed.
She raised the concern during a nationwide assessment under the Maternal Mortality Action and Response Program, an initiative intended to identify the factors driving preventable deaths among pregnant women and new mothers.
The program has visited several regions to validate existing health data, engage frontline workers and examine conditions within medical facilities.
According to Dr Ayensu-Danquah, the nationwide exercise will guide the development of a comprehensive roadmap for improving maternal healthcare.
“Kumasi is number one, Greater Accra is number two,” she said, stressing that officials must move beyond reviewing information from their offices and investigate conditions on the ground.
Available regional reports show that Ashanti recorded maternal mortality ratios of 132 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021, 134 in 2022, 167 in 2023, 166 in 2024 and 179 in 2025.
These figures are mortality ratios rather than annual numbers of women who died. They therefore should not be added together and described as 778 individual maternal deaths.
Despite the distinction, the regional trend remains deeply concerning. Each annual ratio was substantially above the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality to fewer than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.
Health authorities have identified weaknesses in Ghana’s referral system as one of the major challenges contributing to maternal deaths in the region.
Many complicated cases from district, private and faith-based hospitals are transferred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, sometimes after patients’ conditions have deteriorated.
Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services Dr Fred Adomako-Boateng has called for stronger capacity at primary and district-level facilities so that medical teams can identify and manage obstetric emergencies earlier.
He has also raised concerns about disparities in the distribution of doctors, nurses, midwives and specialist healthcare professionals, particularly in rural and underserved districts.
Although the region has made some progress in improving its health-worker-to-population ratios, staffing levels and distribution remain inadequate in several communities.
Financial pressures confronting healthcare facilities have also been identified as a barrier to quality maternal care. Health authorities have called for more reliable funding and faster reimbursement under the National Health Insurance Scheme.
Delayed payments can affect the ability of facilities to purchase medicines, maintain equipment and provide emergency interventions without imposing additional costs on patients.
Medical Director of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Dr Kwadwo Sarbeng has described maternal mortality as an important measure of the general strength of a health system.
Common direct causes include severe bleeding after childbirth, hypertensive conditions such as pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, infections, obstructed labor and complications arising from caesarean sections.
Delays in deciding to seek medical assistance, reaching an appropriate facility and receiving treatment after arrival can turn manageable conditions into fatal emergencies.
The government’s Maternal Mortality Action and Response Program is expected to examine these challenges and recommend targeted interventions based on evidence gathered from health facilities.
Dr Ayensu-Danquah said the resulting roadmap would only be effective if it accurately reflected the experiences of patients and frontline healthcare workers.
The findings have renewed calls for stronger referral networks, emergency transportation, blood availability, adequately equipped maternity units and improved distribution of skilled health professionals.
Health authorities maintain that reducing maternal deaths will require coordinated action involving the government, hospitals, healthcare workers, families, community leaders and development partners.
Source: Omanghana
