Naa Momo Lartey, the Minister for Gender, Children, and Social Protection, has raised serious concerns regarding Ghana's escalating maternal health crisis. According to her, nearly 900 women have lost their lives due to pregnancy- and childbirth-related complications in 2025 alone.
During a high-level stakeholder meeting in Accra, Minister Lartey emphasized the gravity of the situation, describing it as deeply troubling. Despite years of healthcare investments, maternal deaths remain unacceptably high.
The country’s maternal mortality ratio has only seen a slight improvement over the past decade, decreasing from 316 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2010 to 301 in 2020. However, more recent data shows an increase in maternal deaths, from 100 per 100,000 in 2023 to 102 in 2024. At this rate, Ghana risks falling short of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal target of 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.
Minister Lartey explained that many of these deaths are preventable, but continue to occur due to a variety of systemic issues. These include inadequate healthcare infrastructure, delayed antenatal care, poor emergency transport systems, limited referral networks, and socio-cultural barriers, especially in rural areas.
Deputy Chief of Staff, Oye Bampo, confirmed that without urgent interventions, the number of maternal deaths could surpass 1,000 by the end of 2025.
Dr. Hafez Adam Taher, representing the Minister of Health, pointed to critical gaps in emergency transport, blood supply availability, essential maternal health commodities, and inconsistent maternal death surveillance mechanisms as contributing factors to the crisis.
Minister Lartey stressed that maternal mortality is not only a public health issue but also a human rights and national development concern. Tragically, even the Ministry of Gender itself has recorded a death among the nearly 900 maternal fatalities this year.
The situation calls for immediate action to address the systemic barriers and prevent further unnecessary loss of life.
Source: MyNewsGh.com
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