About 70 Pregnant Women Die In Eastern Region.

A total of 70 pregnant women died with pregnancy in the Eastern Region by the end September this year mainly due to poor roads and lack of ambulances to convey them.

The Eastern Regional Health Sector still battles high maternal death though there was a lot of critical interventions including passion, Innovation, commitment , compassion and accountability for Maternal and Neonatal Health. [PICCAM]

So far, out of 49,000 successful births, neonatal deaths hangs around 697.

There was a little improvement from 2017 to 2018 when the death toll reduced from 180 to 132.

The clinical causes of the maternal death in the region has been attributed to Hemorrhage, eclampsia / hypertension disease pregnancy, Amniotic fluid and unsafe abortion.

The Regional Health Directorate state that ‘ poor road network, inadequate specialist in the hospital. poor supervision by some heads in the sector, poor emergency readiness and responsiveness due to poor road and lack of ambulances in many districts are some of the main factors in maternal deaths.

The introduction of drones has somehow helped in solving some of the problems mainly, blood delivery and essential medicine delivery in hard to reach areas like Afram plains North and South Districts.

However, the absence of ambulances is still a big problem

The entire Afram Plains has no ambulance. Pregnant women are therefore carried on motorcycles and tricycles during emergencies. And whenever there is a case of referral to Koforidua, the private Pick Up of the District Health Director is used.

The Eastern Regional CHPS Coordinator, Augustina Nartey revealed that at the CHIPs zone level, community members are encouraged to use motorbikes and taxis if available to transport patients to the nearest health facility during emergency.

At the recent Heath Forum and Annual General meeting by the Ghana coalition of NGOs in health in the Eastern Region, lot of NGOs made presentations on how it is putting interventions to help reduce the maternal death in the Region.

The Eastern Regional Chairman of the Ghana Coalition of NGOs in health, Emmanuel Mintah, speaking on the theme of the event, ” Achieving Universal Health Coverage and Sustainable Development Goals; the role of NGOs, charged members to focus on different perspectives and experience to boost the the achievement of effective health systems strengthening in the country.

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SOURCE: starfm