By Seraphine Nyuiemedi
The Volta Regional Health Directorate has launched its zero tolerance for maternal deaths with a call on all stakeholders to come on board to curb maternal mortality in the region.
Speaking at the event, the Volta Regional Acting Director of Health, Dr Senanu Kwesi Djokoto said, though the region’s maternal mortality rate has declined significantly, the target is to ensure that no woman dies out of pregnancy or pregnancy related conditions.
Statistics show that out of every one million women who give birth every year in the country, close to 900 loses their lives.
The Volta Region has 102 maternal mortality per every one hundred thousand live births.
The Volta Regional Acting Director of Health, Dr Senanu Kwesi Djokoto said the region lost a total of 41 women to maternal mortality in the year 2020, and about 35 women in 2021.
He said all hands on deck approach is required to avert such in the future.
“We have a target as a region, ideally we think that no woman should die out of maternal mortality. If you look at the global efforts towards reducing maternal mortality, as a world if you look at our sustainable development goals the target is that not more than 70 women per 100 thousand live births should lose their lives from pregnancy or pregnancy related conditions”.
Dr. Djokoto said out of every 100 women who get pregnant in the Volta Region, about 40 percent do not plan it, thereby pushing some of them to engage in unsafe abortions which often endanger their lives. He advised couples to use family planning methods to enable them plan their family properly.
“In the region we still have a very significant number of people as many as 40 out of every 100 pregnancies not being planned. From the pregnancies that have not been planned a good percentage of them would want to get rid of these pregnancies. People have died out of this particular complication of trying to get pregnancies aborted”.
The Volta Regional Director for the Department of Gender, Thywill Eyra Kpe urged women to aspire to be economically empowered before they decide on whether or not to get pregnant.
She pledged her unit’s support towards zero maternal deaths in the region.
Stakeholders present at the event include, health practitioners, security agencies and the Volta Regional Coordinating Council representatives, the media among others.
