News
GHS asked to adopt ‘Pregnant Man’ initiative to reduce maternal mortality
Dr Micheal Wombeogo, Executive Director for Participatory Action for Rural Development Alternatives (PARDA), has advocated the adoption of the ‘Pregnant Man’ concept in maternal healthcare to reduce complications and mortality rates.
The ‘Pregnant Man’ concept was initiated by PARDA in 2012 in the Upper East region to increase pregnant women’s antenatal post-natal attendance, as well as skilled childbirth.
Dr Wombeogo told the Ghana News Agency that the ‘Pregnant Man’ concept encourages men to actively participate in a woman’s maternal journey by accompanying her to antenatal and post-natal clinics and motivating her to carry healthy babies to term.
He urged the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to scale up the ‘Pregnant Man’ initiative in all regions to ensure that men were well educated to provide the right assistance to their pregnant wives.
“Ensuring that husbands attend pregnancy school with their wives to learn about healthy eating, best sleeping postures during pregnancy and the right kind of support to offer can help improve maternal health,” he said.
Dr Wombeogo said the ‘Pregnant Man’ initiative, which was first implemented in the Upper East Region, has been well accepted by men in the community as a strategy for reducing late diagnosis of maternal complications.
“The pregnant man initiative simply means that when your wife is pregnant, you the man too is pregnant, and you need to go through the process with her,” he said.
Dr Wombeogo said that throughout the ‘Pregnant Man’ project implementation phase from 2012 to 2015, the Upper East Region had zero maternal deaths and only one maternal death from 2015 to 2018, with 22 mortalities recorded in 2023 due to the initiative’s discontinuation.
Dr Wombeogo said the ‘Pregnant Man’ initiative had over the years addressed the issue of poor logistics in health facilities, which discouraged health care workers from going to work.
He added that the initiative provided delivery beds, hospital beds, motorcycles, bicycles, community education training and maternity blocks to health care workers, communities, and pregnant women. –GNA
News
IGP to arrest perpetrators of violence at the Ablekuma North elections – Nana B
The National Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Henry Nana Boakye, popularly known as Nana B, has disclosed that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) has pledged to arrest all those involved in the recent violence at the Ablekuma North elections.
In a Facebook post, Nana B said the assurance was given during a meeting between political parties and the IGP over security preparations for the upcoming Akwatia by-election, scheduled for September 2, 2025.
According to him, the NPP delegation, made up of himself, Member of Parliament for Ayawaso Central Henry Quartey, and DCOP Kwasi Ofori, urged the IGP to take swift action against the perpetrators of the violence.
He explained that their images had been widely captured in photos and videos, and their arrest would serve as a warning to others planning to cause disturbances in future elections.
“The IGP assured the NPP that the police will very soon arrest all the perpetrators of the Ablekuma North elections violence,” Nana B stated.
He further disclosed that the police plan to deploy about 5,000 officers to ensure adequate security across all polling stations during the Akwatia by-election.
The NPP, however, called on the police not to apply the law selectively.
Nana B noted that while some persons linked to the NPP have been arrested over social media commentary, others aligned with different political parties appear to have been left off the hook.
Despite this concern, the NPP expressed appreciation to the IGP for engaging political parties ahead of the by-election.
The party said it expects concrete steps to be taken to bring the perpetrators of the Ablekuma North violence to book.
By: Jacob Aggrey
News
Efforts are underway to fix the Ofankor–Nsawam Road – Ghana Highway Authority assures drivers
The Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) has assured motorists that steps are being taken to repair the bad portions of the Ofankor–Nsawam Road.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, the Authority said it had taken note of recent demonstrations and complaints from drivers, especially over the stretch between Sapeiman and Medie/Sansam junction.
According to the statement, the contractor has already fixed parts of the damaged road.
It mentioned that as of Monday, August 18, about five gangs were working on both the northbound and southbound lanes to improve safety and riding comfort.
The GHA appealed to drivers and commuters to be patient and cautious while using the road and to cooperate with traffic wardens and flagmen to avoid traffic jams.
It added that law enforcement officers had also been engaged to help manage traffic.
The Authority expressed regret over the inconvenience caused by the works and assured the public that the project would be completed.
It said regular updates would be given on the progress.
By: Jacob Aggrey
