Ashanti Region: 181 women die during childbirth in 2022
The Ashanti Region has seen an upsurge in maternal deaths after a total of 181 women died during childbirth in 2022.
Health authorities in the region said the amount translates into 22 percent of the 875 mortalities documented across the country in the year under review.
Eclampsia and postpartum haemorrhage have been identified as major causes of maternal fatalities in the region.
Ashanti Regional Health Director, Dr. Emmanuel Tenkorang at the yearly health performance evaluation in Kumasi presented a deeper breakdown.
“Maternal mortality still remains a challenge in the region, during the year under review. Our maternal mortality rate increased somewhat from 132 per 1,000 live births to 134 per 1,000 live births. The total number of maternal fatalities registered in the region was 181. The biggest cause of maternal mortality remains eclampsia and post-partum haemorrhage, while the percentage of maternal deaths was 20%,” Ashanti Regional Health Director said.
Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kumah Aboagye asked for systems to be reinforced to address maternal fatalities.
“Our performance review at the national level has been very significant. We see declines in institutional newborn mortality rate across the nation. Our neo-mortality rate is down, institutional maternal mortality reduced from hundred and eleven to hundred and two, per hundred thousand live births.
Dr. Patrick Kumah Aboagye further remarked, “I believe this is one of the lowest we ever recorded since we started recording institutional maternal mortality ratios. The number of overall deaths dropped from 875 to 809. Ashanti area alone provided 181. There’s more work to be done to solve the issue. If we did 90% we will be doing lot better”.