Gender
Ending maternal mortality: A national, moral duty to mothers
When Ama Serwaa stepped out of her room that night, she paused at the doorway and looked back. Her two-year-old son was asleep, his tiny chest rising and falling gently. She bent, kissed his forehead and whispered, “Mummy will be back soon.”
It was a promise she never kept.
Ama was 28, seven months pregnant, and hopeful. She had been feeling unwell all day, but as many women do, she tried to endure it. When the bleeding started, fear crept in.
By the time her husband and neighbours realised it was serious, night had fallen and transport was hard to find. The nearest health facility was far away. Every minute felt like an hour.
By the time Ama arrived at the Ada district hospital, she was barely conscious. Within minutes, she was gone. Her unborn baby died with her.
In one night, a child lost his mother, a husband lost his wife, and a family lost its future. Ama became another silent statistics- another woman who left home pregnant and never returned alive.
Maternal mortality remains a challenge as far as reproductive healthcare services in Ghana are concerned.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines it as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, regardless of the duration of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes.
This continues to be a great concern with majority of all maternal deaths occurring in developing Africa with more than half in Sub- Saharan Africa.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) says, the country has recorded a slight increase in the institutional maternal mortality rate for 2024.
Data presented by the Director for Family Health, Dr Kennedy Brightson, at the Fifth National Maternal, Child Health, and Nutrition Conference in Accra shows a rise from 109.22 per 100,000 live births in 2023 to 110 per 100,000 live births in 2024.
Owing to the still high levels of maternal mortality in developing countries, especially Africa, it is now increasingly being recognised that actions required to achieve improvements in maternal health should involve comprehensive, multi-faceted approach.
Across Ghana, stories like Ama’s unfold quietly. There are no sirens, no headlines, no public mourning. Just hurried burials, unanswered questions and children growing up with fading memories of a mother’s voice.
It is this painful reality that formed the backdrop to a high-level Maternal Mortality Roundtable attended by the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, as Ghana intensifies efforts to end preventable maternal deaths.
The roundtable, convened by the Office of the President through the SDGs Advisory Unit, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), was held under the theme: “No woman should lose her life to give a life.”
But for families like Ama’s, these words must mean more than fine speeches and conference banners. They must mean real change that reaches the last woman in the last village.
Speaking with emotion and urgency, Dr Lartey reminded participants that maternal mortality is not just a medical failure, but a failure of care, equity and accountability.
“Saving women’s lives must go beyond rhetoric,” she stressed. “It must be seen, felt and materialised in our communities, our clinics and our homes.”
She called for strong community accountability mechanisms, warning that when maternal deaths are normalised or hidden, society becomes complicit in the loss. Every woman who dies in childbirth, she noted, leaves behind a trail of grief that does not end at the grave.
“History will not judge us by the speeches we deliver today,” the Minister said quietly, “but by the lives we save through the path we take.”
She urged all stakeholders, government agencies, development partners, traditional and religious leaders to move beyond promises to clear commitments, timelines and responsibility, insisting that maternal health cannot remain an annual discussion while women continue to die daily.
Yet Dr Lartey was equally clear that the fight against maternal deaths also begins with women themselves. She urged pregnant women to take antenatal and postnatal care seriously, noting that many complications are preventable or manageable if detected early.
Health experts present acknowledged a painful truth: some women delay or skip antenatal visits because of distance, cost, fear or cultural beliefs. But these visits can be the thin line between life and death the place where danger signs are noticed before it is too late.
Dr Lartey reminded the nation that maternal health is not the burden of one ministry alone, but a shared moral responsibility — from policy makers to health workers, from chiefs to pastors, from husbands to neighbours.
“When women survive, children are born, families thrive, communities prosper and nations grow,” she said. “Saving women’s lives is not charity. It is justice.”
Today, Ama’s son calls his grandmother “Mama.” Her husband still keeps her cloth folded neatly in a box.
Her absence is felt in small, crushing ways an empty seat, an unanswered call, a child asking questions no one can answer.
Ama’s death should not be just another story told and forgotten. It should be a reminder and a warning.
If Ghana’s commitments remain words on paper, more women will leave home pregnant and never return. But if action replaces rhetoric, if women are supported to seek care, and if communities refuse to stay silent, then fewer families will have to whisper goodbye at a graveside.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
The Founder of The Raissa Child Protection Initiative (TRCPI), Ms Raissa Sambou, has called for intensified efforts to eliminate child labour across Africa, describing the practice as a serious violation of children’s rights and a major threat to their development and future.
She urged governments, individuals, civil society organisations, religious bodies, and traditional and religious leaders to work together to protect children from all forms of labour that deprive them of their childhood, education, and well-being.
Ms Sambou made the call on Thursday as the world marked the World Day Against Child Labour, an annual observance held on June 12 to raise awareness about child labour and mobilise action towards its elimination. This year’s commemoration was observed under the theme, “Red Card to Child Labour: Fair Play for Children, Decent Work for Adults.”
According to her, child labour continues to affect thousands of children across Ghana and other parts of Africa, exposing them to exploitation and denying them opportunities to reach their full potential.
“Child labour can affect the physical, emotional and psychological well-being of children. It interrupts their education, exposes them to abuse and exploitation, increases their risk of injuries and long-term health problems, and limits their chances of breaking the cycle of poverty,” she stated.
Ms Sambou further noted that children engaged in labour often suffer from low self-esteem, social exclusion and trauma, with many unable to acquire the skills and education needed to contribute meaningfully to national development.
She stressed that protecting children was a collective responsibility and called for stronger enforcement of child protection laws, increased public awareness, and greater investment in social protection programmes for vulnerable families.
Ms Sambou also identified poverty as one of the major drivers of child labour and warned that failure to address economic hardship would continue to expose children to exploitation and other forms of abuse.
She called on policymakers to strengthen interventions aimed at reducing poverty, improving access to quality education and supporting struggling households.
“We must not allow ignorance and poverty to thrive. When poverty is not adequately addressed, it fuels child labour and other crimes against children. Let the systems work effectively to shield every child from harm and give them the opportunity to learn, grow and succeed,” she added.
The World Day Against Child Labour was established by the International Labour Organisation in 2002 to focus global attention on the need to eradicate child labour and protect the rights and welfare of children worldwide.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
Plan International Ghana has reaffirmed its commitment to advancing menstrual health and hygiene management (MHHM) and promoting the rights, dignity and well-being of girls and women across the country.
Mr Mathias Gangana, Southern Programme Influencing and Impact Area Manager of Plan International Ghana, said the organisation’s interventions over the past decade had helped address menstrual poverty, challenge harmful social norms and create enabling environments for girls to thrive.
He was speaking at the UHAS, RGHI Project Dissemination Forum held at the Fred N. Binka School of Public Health on the Hohoe Campus of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS).
Mr Gangana said, as an organisation dedicated to children’s rights and gender equality, particularly for girls, Plan International Ghana had implemented transformative interventions that had significantly improved menstrual health outcomes nationwide.
He said through comprehensive menstrual health education programmes, the organisation had reached girls, boys, parents, teachers and community members, increased awareness and reducing the stigma associated with menstruation.
Mr Gangana said thousands of vulnerable girls had been empowered to manage menstruation with dignity and confidence through the provision of sanitary pads, reusable menstrual products and the establishment of pad banks in schools, including special schools and some tertiary institutions.
He said those interventions had contributed to improved school attendance and greater participation in academic activities among girls.
Mr Gangana said Plan International Ghana had also strengthened Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services through the installation and rehabilitation of handwashing facilities, the provision of clean water and soap, and the construction of gender-responsive, inclusive and disability-friendly sanitation facilities.
He said those investments had improved privacy, safety and comfort for girls while promoting healthy hygiene practices in schools and communities.
Recognising that menstrual health was a shared responsibility, Mr Gangana said the organisation had actively engaged men and boys through initiatives such as the “Real Fathers” campaign to foster understanding and support for girls and women.
He said advocacy and community sensitisation programmes had also contributed to reducing discrimination, challenging harmful gender norms and advancing gender equality.
According to him, the interventions had yielded significant outcomes, including increased knowledge and awareness of menstrual health, improved access to menstrual hygiene products, enhanced school attendance and academic participation among girls, strengthened hygiene practices, increased male involvement and stronger community ownership of menstrual health initiatives.
“As we reflect on these achievements, we stand in solidarity with all partners, lecturers, teachers, community leaders, parents, girls and young people who have contributed and continue to support this important journey,” he said.
Mr Gangana said the collective efforts of stakeholders had empowered countless girls to remain in school, participate confidently in community development and realise their full potential.
He reaffirmed Plan International Ghana’s commitment to sustaining efforts that would ensure every girl could manage menstruation safely, confidently and with dignity.
“Together, let us build a more just, inclusive and equitable society where no girl is left behind simply because of her period,” he said. -GNA
