By MAHMUD MOHAMMED-NURUDEEN (Lead writer) –

Aisha Bawa, a 34-year-old midwife at the Manhyia Government Hospital in Ghana, tries to ensure safe deliveries in her facility. Aisha has worked in the Ghana Health Service for nine years, where she has been committed to minimising maternal deaths while providing emotional support to grieving mothers.

“Saving a baby and the mother feels like securing a ticket to heaven for me,” Aisha said.

Over the years, Ghana has seen a decline in its maternal mortality ratio (MMR) from 760 per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 319 per 100,000 live births in 2015 and 263 per 100,000 live births in 2020. Despite this progress, the reduction has been gradual, and Ghana has fallen short of the SDG 3.1 target to reduce global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030.

However, according to the Lives Saved Tool modelling study, increasing coverage of midwife-delivered interventions could prevent 41% of maternal deaths, 39% of neonatal deaths, and 26% of stillbirths, potentially averting 2.2 million deaths annually by 2035.

Transport trolleys for babies

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), children who die within the first 28 days of birth suffer from conditions and diseases associated with a lack of quality care during or immediately after birth, as well as in the first days of life. To address the high neonatal death rate at Manhyia Hospital, Aisha implemented the use of ‘transport trolleys for babies’ designed for swift transportation and ventilation of infants experiencing asphyxia. Aisha collaborated with a skilled artisan to craft this equipment for the hospital.  The trolley, costing GHC1,250 (approx. $104), includes warmers and portable oxygen, crucial materials for the well-being of asphyxiated newborns.

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SOURCE: Nigeria Health Watch