Report By: Ishmael Barfi
ACCRA, Ghana— The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has challenged Ghanaian journalists to move beyond reporting the launch of maternal health initiatives and use investigative journalism to track government action and expose gaps that continue to put women’s lives at risk.
Dr Sennen Hounton, UNFPA Regional Director for West and Central Africa, said maternal mortality should no longer be treated solely as a health-sector issue but as a measure of state capacity, public accountability and the effectiveness of national systems.
He made the call in Accra during discussions on Ghana’s Presidential Initiative on Maternal Health Emergency Response, urging the media to scrutinise implementation and whether the initiative delivers lifesaving services to women when they need them.
“Use your pen and microphone to speak for a mother who cannot speak for herself,” Dr Hounton told journalists.
He said women who die while giving birth often have no platform to demand accountability, making the media critical to ensuring their deaths do not become mere statistics.
Coverage is not enough
Dr Hounton acknowledged Ghana’s progress in expanding access to maternal healthcare, particularly antenatal care and institutional deliveries.
However, he said the major challenge is increasingly what happens when women reach health facilities.
“What is usually happening is, when the women get there, what are the systems in place? The readiness of the system, the quality of care to save a life,” he said.
According to Ghana Statistical Service data, Ghana’s maternal mortality ratio declined from 316 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2010 to 301 in 2021.
Dr Hounton said the relatively slow decline demonstrates the need to examine the quality and readiness of the health system rather than focusing only on access to services.
He noted that Ghana has achieved relatively high levels of institutional delivery and antenatal care compared with several countries in the region.
The concern, he said, is whether health facilities have the capacity to respond effectively when complications arise.
We know what to do’
Dr Hounton said many maternal deaths are preventable because the major medical causes are known and effective interventions exist.
“Maternal death in this context is not a clinical mystery,” he said. “We know the causes. The science is there. We know what to do.”
He cited severe haemorrhage, obstetric emergencies requiring caesarean sections and eclampsia among conditions that can be managed when women receive timely and appropriate care.
The challenge, he said, is ensuring that the necessary systems are functioning when emergencies occur.
This includes the availability of essential medicines and supplies, blood, trained health personnel, emergency transportation, functional referral systems and adequately equipped health facilities.
For journalists, he said, these areas should become subjects of sustained public-interest reporting.
“Are the drugs there to save the woman when she comes?” he asked, urging journalists to investigate supply chains and other bottlenecks within the health system.
Adolescent pregnancy remains a concern
Dr Hounton also highlighted adolescent pregnancy and child marriage as important factors in maternal health outcomes.
He said pregnancy among adolescents can carry increased risks, particularly where girls face limited access to sexual and reproductive health information and services.
“When a child with a body not fully developed is giving birth to another child, the risk of dying is high,” he said.
He urged stakeholders to look beyond what happens in health facilities and address the social and structural factors that expose girls and women to maternal-health risks.
Financing Remains critical
The UNFPA Regional Director also identified financing as a major component of the maternal-health response.
He acknowledged that governments face competing demands and limited resources but said greater attention must be given to the efficiency and effectiveness of existing investments.
“We need to do more efficiency about the resources that are allocated,” he said, adding that additional capital would also be required from governments, the private sector, investors and communities.
He said the changing global development-financing environment makes domestic commitment and accountability increasingly important.
Media urged to look beyond ceremonial launches
Dr Hounton challenged journalists to follow the implementation of Ghana’s Presidential Initiative on Maternal Health Emergency Response beyond its launch.“Look past the ceremonial launch,” he said.
He encouraged journalists to track the initiative’s performance, investigate bottlenecks and ask whether commitments are translating into measurable improvements for women.
Among the questions he urged the media to pursue are whether essential medicines are available when women arrive at health facilities, whether emergency referral systems function effectively, whether ambulances are available when needed, and whether facilities have the staff and equipment required to manage complications.
He said such reporting would strengthen social accountability and help ensure that government commitments translate into action.
A shared responsibility
Dr Hounton said maternal survival should be treated as a collective responsibility involving government, health workers, communities, development partners, the private sector and the media.
He said the media has a particularly important role because journalists can bring systemic failures into public view and demand answers from those responsible for addressing them.
“No one will come and save our mothers, our girls, our wives for us. We must do it ourselves,” he said.
He urged journalists to use their platforms to amplify the experiences of women who cannot speak for themselves and maintain pressure for stronger accountability in Ghana’s maternal-health system.
For Dr Hounton, the measure of the new maternal health initiative will ultimately not be the launch itself, but whether it helps prevent w
omen from dying from causes that can be treated and managed.
Source: www.thenewindepedentonline.com