By Dennis Peprah
Sunyani, Oct. 21, GNA – The Indigenous Women Empowerment Network (IWEN) Ghana, an indigenous women’s right non-governmental organisation has secured GHC100,000.00 funding from KGL Foundation to promote sexual, maternal, and newborn health (SMNH) project in the Ada West District of Greater-Accra Region.
The 12-month project dubbed “Improving Sexual, Maternal and Newborn Health through Social Accountability and Community Mobilization” targets to reach out to and benefit 2,500 women of reproductive age in the District.
A statement issued and signed by Mrs. Celestina Maame Esi Donkor, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of IWEN Ghana said the project sought to inform, empower, and mobilize the beneficiaries to manage pregnancy and childbirth.
“This will improve health outcomes within the project lifetime by reducing maternal mortality and morbidity and related costs of emergency health care,” a copy of the statement made available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) indicated, saying health for women would increase women’s productivity.
It explained the project would also ensure provision of essential SMNH care to women, new-born, and children at all levels by adopting a public-community partnership approach.
“IWEN Ghana support programmes and services aimed at reducing preventable deaths through a high-impact, evidence-based child survival project that helps to increase access to quality maternal, neo-natal and sexual reproductive health services,” the statement added.
“Ada West is one of the most deprived districts in Greater-Accra bedeviled with many social challenges including health care delivery. The district recorded the highest teenage pregnancy cases in the region in 2021 and performed poorly over the years in terms of its health indicators especially around maternal, neo-natal and child health services (GHS Report, 2020)”, it stated.
The statement added the implementation of the project remained necessary, saying it would improve access to quality sexual, maternal, newborn and child health care services to help reduce newborn and maternal deaths in the district, accelerating progress towards Sustainable Development Goals Three of reducing maternal mortality ratio by 2030.
Mr. Edward Ayabilah, the Project Manager, said improving access to skilled delivery care at the time of childbirth and in the event of a complication remained critical to tackling maternal deaths in the country.
“The project will therefore use social accountability and mobilization approach to promote citizen’s awareness on maternal and child health rights through sensitization and advocacy as well as building citizen capacity to monitor progress on addressing identified maternal health related challenges,” he added.
Community Accountability Committees (CAC) would be established in the beneficiary communities to monitor financial allocations and spending on maternal health, quality, and effectiveness of service delivery.
GNA