A/R: Health Directorate Launches Maternal Death And Unsafe Abortion Campaign
The Ashanti Regional Health directorate has launched maternal mortality and unsafe abortion campaign to tackle the soaring maternal deaths in the Ashanti Region. The region has recorded 174 maternal death including 11 unsafe abortion in 2021. The situation has become a source of worry to health authorities and they are looking for effective strategies and the support of all key stakeholders to bring it down.
Among others, the campaign will leverage public education, stakeholder engagement and quality healthcare services to ensure that no life is lost to maternal mortality.
The campaign also seeks to remove all barriers and unfair treatments that increase the vulnerability of pregnant women and girls to maternal mortality and also push those with unintended pregnancies to indulge in unsafe abortions and other risky actions.
At the launch of the campaign in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional health director Dr Emmanuel Tenkorang, said the campaign has become necessary since maternal mortality in the Ashanti Region has now increase as at 2021 to 174 including 11 unsafe Abortion.
“The increase in maternal mortality in Ashanti Region is at great concern to the Ministry of Health and the the GHS and partners,” he said.
Dr Tenkorang mentioned the dominant causes of maternal mortality as hypertension, excessive bleeding and unsafe abortion complications.
“The two major causes of pregnancy/child-related deaths are excessive bleeding and hypertensive diseases. While interventions focus on these causes, preventing unintended pregnancies would significantly reduce the risk of maternal deaths,” he said.
“Unfortunately, abortion-related maternal deaths, though highly preventable, remain under-reported due to issues of stigma. For fear of social embarrassment or incurring cost, some women and girls have had to resort to undignified abortions or the use of obnoxious substances that could either end their lives or leave them with life-changing complications, including infertility and psychological trauma.
“No woman or girl in the country should ever use unsafe abortion due to social stigma or financial limitation. We are looking forward to a society where there will be neither stigma nor unfair treatment to women and girls seeking abortion care.
“Let us remember that abortion care is health care and that is all some women and girls need to survive, especially when they are raped, impregnate by family member or if the pregnancy can have complications on the woman, Dr Tenkorang said.
BY: Akwadaa Nyame (SilverFM)
