The five-year project dubbed, "Health Systems Innovation Project", which will be implemented in 20 districts, also targets quality improvement in service delivery in beneficiary.

Dr. Rita Larsen-Reindorf, Deputy Regional Director of Health Services in charge of Clinical Care, said the region would identify resource training centres in all 20 districts to serve as hub for training of other staff and aid lower facilities in the district.

She said as part of the project activities of the maternal and perinatal task force teams, infection prevention and control teams and quality improvement teams in the region would be strengthened to improve service outcomes.

According to the Deputy Director, obstetricians, gynaecologists and paediatricians in the district hospitals shall be trained and the goal is for those districts to serve as the hub in the network of practice.

"District and sub-district staff and community members will be trained in the implementation of the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) scorecard to provide opportunity for community members to provide feedback to health service providers" she indicated.

DrReindorf-Larsen disclosed that the directorate, as part of the project's implementation, strengthened gender responsive community engagement and capacity building for underserved communities.

Also, a comprehensive and integrated package of clinical and public health interventions has been provided.

Dr. Felix Osei-Sarpong, Health Specialist, UNICEF Ghana, said the Ashanti Region was considered well-endowed in terms of support, but a closer look at the data suggested that there was the need to support the region.

He said the project also sought to build on the achievements from various interventions implemented to contain the spread of COVID- 19 in the region,

There are still system challenges that need to be addressed especially when the Ashanti Region has one of the largest number of districts, he argued.

"There is the need to look at innovations that would be able to help address the challenges of the region," Dr. Osei-Sarpong stated.

Ms. Dragica Stanivuk, a Representative of the Canadian High Commission, said Canada was committed to supporting Ghana to tackle maternal and newborn deaths.

She reiterated the need to build on previous interventions and applauded all stakeholders for their efforts towards the project's implementation.