He said government had worked collectively to create safe and supportive environment, ensure access to appropriate information and ensure that health facilities provided goods and services such as counselling on mental health, nutrition, sexual and reproductive health to meet the SDG targets.

The Minister gave the assurance in Accra at the opening ceremony of a three-day workshop on Midwifery Services Framework on the theme: “Expanding Quality Midwifery Services for the Benefit of Sexual and Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Adolescent Health Services”.

The workshop is in collaboration with the United Nations partners, Ghana Registered Midwives Association and the USAID. The framework is a tool developed by International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and partners to support the development and strengthening of midwifery services across countries, focusing on a quality midwifery workforce.

It also provides health system developers and planners, maternal and newborn health expert, policy makers with an evidence-based tool. The Minister said government had over the years provided sexual and reproductive health services, including maternal and newborn health care. Mr Agyemang-Manu noted that government was convinced about ensuring that access to health care was key enabling factor to improved maternal and newborn health and that was the need to sustain the National Health Insurance Scheme.

He commended all hard working health practitioners across the country for the immense role played in bringing relief and healthcare to Ghanaians. “Government will remain focused and committed to implementing policies that will help improve the health sector as well as build capacity of the personnel to enable them deliver quality healthcare”, he said.

Mrs Jemima Dennis-Antwi, ICM Africa Regional Board member, said the workshop would identify areas in the delivery of sexual, reproductive, maternal and newborn health services of relevance to the country’s context towards achieving the SDG targets.