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
The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee and the member of parliament for Bolgatanga Central constituency, Isaac Adongo, has defended the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Asiama, describing him as the right person to manage the country’s central bank.
According to Mr. Adongo, Ghana would have faced a difficult situation if the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had not won the 2024 elections and Dr. Asiama had not been appointed governor.
Speaking in an interview with Edem Mensah-Tsotorme, Online Editor for ghanaiantimes.com.gh, Mr.Adongo said the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), including Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, only wanted to remain relevant within their party.
“Well, the NPP and Kojo Oppong Nkrumah have a job to do. They want to remain relevant in their party. I don’t begrudge them,” he said.
Mr. Adongo praised President John Dramani Mahama for appointing Dr. Asiama as Governor of the Central Bank after returning to power.
He explained that the President carefully assessed the country’s economic challenges while in opposition and chose Dr. Asiama as the best person for the role.
According to him, the governor has so far shown strong leadership at the central bank.
“I’m not saying this because I work closely with him, but sitting on the board with him, his leadership is on par,” he stated.
The lawmaker further noted that the governor understands the concerns of Ghanaians, especially regarding the rising cost of living and economic pressures.
He said government had already done the “heavy lifting” in stabilizing the economy and would now reassess some of its policies to reduce pressure on public finances.
Mr. Adongo expressed optimism that the country would not witness the same level of government expenditure from 2026 onwards.
“We’ll go back to the drawing board and consider the fiscal implications of some of the actions we have taken. I believe that from 2026, we will not see the same magnitude of expenditures,” he added.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts has clarified that it did not approve or endorse the recent Karnival Kingdom Festival held in Accra.
In a statement issued on May 7, 2026, the ministry said it did not receive any proposal, request for approval or official communication concerning the organisation of the event.
According to the ministry, it was also unaware of the processes through which the festival was allegedly approved to take place in Ghana.
“The Ministry wishes to state unequivocally that it neither endorsed, sanctioned nor authorised the staging of the event,” the statement said.
The clarification follows public criticism and discussions on social media over activities associated with the festival, including the circulation of what many described as culturally unacceptable content.
The ministry acknowledged concerns raised by sections of the public and various stakeholders regarding the conduct and nature of the event.
It explained that as the supervisory institution for the tourism, culture and creative arts sector, it expects all organisers of public festivals and entertainment events to follow established regulatory procedures and engage the relevant state institutions before holding such activities.
The ministry therefore urged organisers of tourism, cultural, entertainment and recreational events to obtain the necessary approvals before staging programmes in the country.
According to the statement, the ministry remains committed to promoting tourism and cultural activities that respect Ghana’s laws, values and cultural identity.
It added that the country’s reputation as a safe and culturally respectful destination must be protected at all times.
By: Jacob Aggrey
