The Upper East Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Braimah Baba Abubakari, has intensified calls on expectant mothers and their families to prioritize delivering at health facilities as part of efforts to reduce maternal and newborn deaths in the region.
Speaking in a sideline interview with journalists during a joint Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH) Strategic Planning Meeting involving health professionals from the Upper East, North East and Northern Regions, Dr Abubakari stressed that every pregnancy deserves skilled care during childbirth.“We are encouraging our mothers, husbands, and mothers-in-law to ensure that every delivery occurs in a health facility. With the primary healthcare system we run in Ghana, access to healthcare has significantly improved,” he stated.
The strategic meeting, supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency–Project Management Service (KOICA-PMS), brought together clinicians, public health experts and key stakeholders to strengthen data-driven strategies aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality across the three northern regions.Dr Abubakari highlighted the extensive network of Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds, health centres, public and private hospitals across the Upper East Region, assuring residents that quality maternal healthcare services were within reach.“Our CHPS compounds, health centres and hospitals are well positioned to provide safe delivery services.
If expectant mothers choose to deliver in these facilities, we can drastically reduce maternal deaths in the region,” he emphasized.His appeal comes amid concerns over the region’s maternal mortality figures, with 27 maternal deaths recorded between January and June 24, 2026.He described the statistics as a reminder of the need for stronger community support to ensure pregnant women received skilled care before, during and after childbirth.
While underscoring the importance of regular antenatal care, Dr Abubakari noted that antenatal attendance alone could not eliminate maternal deaths.“Antenatal care enables health professionals to identify risk factors early, provide appropriate counselling, and determine the safest mode of delivery.“However, the actual delivery must also take place in a health facility where skilled personnel can promptly manage any complications,” he explained.
The Ghana Health Service continues to urge families, community leaders and other stakeholders to support pregnant women in accessing quality maternal healthcare services.The Service believes that collective action, timely antenatal attendance and health facility deliveries remained critical to achieving safer motherhood and healthier newborns across the Upper East Region
.source: Public Relations Unit, Upper East Regional Health Directorate