The project seeks to contribute to the reduction in maternal and child mortality in the Northern Region by improving essential health services to mothers, pregnant women, newborns and children under five years.

The implementing partners for the project are the Tuma Kavi Development Association, the Assemblies of God Relief and Development Services (AGREDS) and the health directorates and district assemblies of the three beneficiary districts.

Hospital equipment

Speaking at a ceremony where he received a quantity of hospital equipment worth GH¢152,242.63 on behalf of the regional health directorate, the Deputy Director in charge of Clinical Care at the Northern Regional Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Briamah B. Abubakari, enumerated a number of challenges that continued to be the leading causes of maternal and child mortality in the Northern Region.

These, according to the deputy director, were excessive bleeding after delivery and high blood pressure, adding that the situation had also been compounded by lack of proper transport such as ambulance in rural communities to send pregnant women in labour to referral facilities for emergency attention.

He said the region recorded 133 maternal deaths in 2016 and 65 deaths from January to June this year, and called for planned and sustainable measures to address the challenges.

Donated by the Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC) to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) towards the reduction of maternal and child mortality in the region, Dr  Abubakari thanked the benefactors for the support and pledged that the items comprising nine “motor-king” ambulances and medicines would be used for the intended purpose.

Complications in labour

The “motor-king” ambulance is to help transport pregnant women in labour in rural and hard-to-reach communities where there were no ambulances to referral facilities, while the medicines which included malaria drugs, de-wormers and multivitamins will protect pregnant women and their unborn children and children under five from malaria and anaemia.

The items were procured with the support from the Global Affairs Canada under the CCFC’s PROMISE project.

PROMISE project

The Country Director of CCFC, Mr George Baiden, who handed over the items at a brief ceremony held at the forecourt of the CCFC office in Tamale last Friday, said the gesture was to improve healthcare service in the beneficiary areas of the PROMISE project.

He urged the beneficiaries to take good care of the items to enhance their lifespan and use them for the purposes they were donated.