By Solomon Gumah, GNA
Tamale, May 5, GNA – Mrs Netta Forson Ackon, President of the Ghana Registered Midwives Association, has called on the government to prioritise the expansion of the midwifery workforce in national health planning, budgeting, and implementation to accelerate recruitment and deployment, of midwives.
This, she said, would ensure that conditions of service reflected the critical role midwives played in the country.
She underscored the need to sustain and deepen investment in midwifery training, infrastructure, and innovation, particularly in underserved regions.
She made the call at a symposium organised by the Ghana Registered Midwives Association (GRMA) in Tamale as part of activities marking the 135th National launch of the International Day of the Midwife.
The event brought together representatives from the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, Nursing and Midwifery Council, traditional and religious authorities, students, the media, among other relevant stakeholders and partners.
This year’s International Day of the Midwife is on the theme “One Million More Midwives”.
The symposium was under the theme: “Scaling up Ghana’s midwifery workforce: Accountability, Action and Acceleration”.
Mrs Forson Ackon rallied stakeholders to champion midwifery as a strategic investment in Ghana’s future, rather than merely a line item in the health budget.
She highlighted challenges facing the profession, and mentioned poor remuneration, heavy workload, inadequate recognition, and limited incentives for rural postings, which affected morale and retention.
“A midwife often takes care of more than one life at a time, the mother and the unborn child, yet the conditions of service do not reflect the level of responsibility,” she said.
She proposed a structured rotational posting system that would enable midwives to serve in deprived areas for a specified period before reassignment to urban facilities.
Ms Leticia Asaba Atia, President of National Association of Registered Midwives (NARM)Ghana, called on government to prioritise investing in specialised midwifery training and equitable deployment of midwives to reduce maternal mortality and improve healthcare outcomes for women and newborns.
She said the lack of specialised midwifery skills remained a major contributor to maternal deaths in the country.
She explained that although midwives were trained to manage normal deliveries, many lacked advanced competencies to handle life-threatening complications such as postpartum haemorrhage and pregnancy-induced hypertension.
“When midwives are trained in specialised areas, they can identify complications early, manage them effectively, and make timely referrals, especially in rural communities where doctors are often unavailable,” she said.
Ms Atia stressed the need to expand admissions into nursing and midwifery training institutions to produce more professionals with advanced skills, adding that such investment would significantly help save lives.
Ms Evelyn Amoako, Acting Chief Programmes Officer at the Nursing and Midwifery Council, who was the keynote speaker at the symposium, said midwives were central to achieving maternal and child health targets under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3).
She noted that midwives could provide up to 90 per cent of essential sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, and adolescent health services when adequately supported.
Ms Amoako said data from the 2024 Health Labour Market Analysis indicated that Ghana had 40,700 midwives, representing 26.9 per cent of the professional nursing and midwifery workforce, with more than 14,000 yet to be employed.
She said although over 3,500 midwives graduate annually, disparities in deployment continued to favour urban areas, leaving rural communities underserved.
She cited recent data showing that 968 women died from maternal causes in 2025, while the institutional maternal mortality rate increased slightly from 109.22 per 100,000 live births in 2023 to 110 per 100,000 in 2024.
She added that skilled delivery coverage declined from 60.6 per cent in 2023 to 55 per cent in 2024, with significant regional disparities.
Ms Amoako said migration of health professionals, including midwives, remained a major challenge, with many seeking better opportunities abroad due to improved working conditions and remuneration.
She called for a bold, time-bound national midwifery workforce agenda to address gaps in training, deployment, and retention, while improving working conditions, particularly in rural areas.
She disclosed that the Ministry of Health would soon introduce a managed migration policy to regulate international opportunities while safeguarding domestic healthcare needs.
Ms Estel Ruth Opoku, Head of Midwifery at the Ministry of Health, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening the midwifery workforce.
She said the Ministry was implementing interventions such as the National Nursing and Midwifery Preceptorship and Mentorship Policies to support newly trained midwives and added that the Midwifery Education and Practice Centres of Excellence Programme was being rolled out to improve training quality and bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Ms Opoku acknowledged the challenges confronting midwives, particularly in underserved areas, and mentioned inadequate accommodation, high workload, and limited access to essential equipment.
She emphasised the need to recognise midwives as autonomous professionals and involve them in decision-making processes within the health sector.
“Midwives remain central to safeguarding the health of women, newborns, and families, and their contribution is vital to achieving improved maternal and child health outcomes,” she said.
Participants at the symposium called for sustained investment, strengthened collaboration, and deliberate policy actions to accelerate progress towards achieving maternal health targets under the Sustainable Development Goals 3.1, which targets reducing maternal mortality below 70 by 2030.
GNA
Edited by Eric K. Amoh/Linda Asante Agyei