International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

New maternal healthcare facilities operated by the Oxfam Maternal Mortality Project in Ghana are helping to improve standards for pregnant women in the country.

The Chief and Elders of the Sumbrungu community, who live in the Bolgatanga Municipality in the upper east region of the country, praised the services during a visit from a team of Oxfam staff, the Ghana News Agency reports.

Since being introduced last year, the project has helped to increase the number of supervised deliveries taking place at healthcare centres, something chief Naba Clement Aberese explained is reversing the trend of women shunning health facilities when giving birth.

"Now [the] majority of women go to deliver at health facilities," he explained, adding they are also taking advantage of antenatal visits and checkups for newborns, which should help reduce deaths of young babies

According to World Health Organization statistics from 2009, 69 in every 1,000 children in the country die before they reach five years old.

Posted by Martine Ward