Deputy Director General at The Ghana health Service, Dr. Gloria Quansah Asare has said that Ghana has made some gains in the reduction of newborn death in the year 2017.
Speaking at a news conference organized by Advocacy and Communication Strategy of The Ghana Health Service in connection with the dissemination of the National Newborn and Child Health Advocacy and Communication Strategy to the media, in Accra, The Deputy Director General stated that, “we made some progress and 2014 when we had the newborn death of 29 per 1000 live births.
In 2017, the survey shows that we have come down to 25 per 1000 live births”, stressing that….. “Infant mortality has reduced over the years”.
She described the gains made as an achievement, but she however added that “we have not reached where we want to be but it tells that we are doing something right and we need the media to help us achieve. Advocacy and communication strategy which is part of the newborn strategy which is very important, and we need the media”.
Speaking on the State of newborn in Ghana, The Chairperson of the Ghana National Newborn Committee responsible for Coordinating And Implementation Of Ghana’s Newborn Care Strategy And Action Plan, Dr. Segoe Moses, said “our work is not done until we can get to a single digit if not zero which we say is not possible but at least we have to work hard to get a single digit”.
According to her, they have achieved a lot but there is a lot more work to be done through sustainable advocacy to keep newborn issues discussed daily.
Dr. Segoe Moses also called on the media to support The Unit….“sending the right messages and talking on behalf of the new born and also bringing feedback from what happening in public. So together we can achieve what we want to achieve so that every mother and baby survive”.
The Ghana National Newborn Health Strategy and Action Plan (2014-2018) was developed as a roadmap for reducing newborn death from 32 per 1000 in 2011 to a target of 21 per 1000 in 2018, representing 5% annual reduction in new born death. This strategy tackles the three leading cases of newborn death. Which are infection, prematurity and asphyxia.
Story by Edzorna Francis Mensah
