It is under a project called Maternal and Child Health improvement being implemented by the Hunger –Project in 15 districts three regions, namely Eastern, Volta and Central, with funding from Else-Kronner-Fresenius Foundation for the next two years.

Mr Samuel Afranie, the country Director of Hunger-Project, who disclosed this at an orientation programme for over 60 community health nurses selected for the training in Koforidua, said the Hunger-Project has supported the construction of 38 CHPS compounds in the Eastern Region.

He said 13 of the participants were coming from the CHPS compound constructed by Hunger Project called ‘Epicenter Clinics’ in the district  for training to be able to provide efficient maternal health services in the various districts.

Mr Afranie said if Traditional Birth Assistants could provide such services then “these nurses who already have the basic skills would do better in providing maternal services to the people”.

He said out of the 15 districts that the project, where the project is being implemented, thirteen came from the Eastern Region whiles Central and Volta had one each at Mfantseman (Taido) and North Dayi (Tokome).

Mrs Gladys Brew, the Coordinator of the Project at the Ghana health Service, said the GHS has instituted a programme called ‘Task-sharing’ to build the capacities of community health nurses in critical areas.

She said the combined objective of both the Hunger Project and the GHS was to provide a 24/7 hour maternal and child care services at the sub districts to address the shortage of midwives.

Mrs Brew said statistics show that about 57 per cent of health centres in the country have only one midwife and this has made it difficult to have the 24/7 hour services needed in the maternal health care delivery, hence the Task-sharing programme.

She said the programme was not going to make the participants midwives immediately and that they would be attached to communities where there are only one midwives to share the task to ensure that every mother has access to a 24/7hour delivery in maternal care.

Dr Antobre Boateng, the Eastern Regional Deputy Director, Public Health, said 61 per cent of maternal deaths were attributed to eclampsia, hypertension and abortion which were all preventable deaths adding that the task -sharing was to train people at the sub districts level.

He said the maternal death rate was not going down despite all interventions adding that “we have to do more in every intervention to ensure that maternal health gets the utmost attention”.