By Esther Aiddo
The Ghana Registered Midwives Association (GRMA) has launched its 90th anniversary celebrations, highlighting the crucial role midwives continue to play in reducing maternal and neonatal mortality in Ghana. The association says progress made so far, including a maternal mortality rate of 234 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023, reflects the dedication and resilience of midwives across the country.
Speaking at the launch, President of the Centre for Health and Development Research, Dr Jemina Dennis Antwi, urged members to sustain efforts to further reduce maternal deaths. She recalled that in the early 1990s, Ghana’s maternal mortality rate stood at 769 deaths per 100,000 live births, one of the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr Antwi noted that global initiatives such as the Millennium Development Goals and the ongoing Sustainable Development Goals, along with direct-entry midwifery training and expanded educational opportunities, have helped rebuild and strengthen the midwifery workforce.
President of the GRMA, Mrs Neta Forson Ackon, encouraged midwives to work closely with the health sector to help Ghana achieve the SDG 2030 target of reducing maternal mortality to fewer than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births. She also called for further reductions in neonatal mortality to at least 12 per 1,000 live births, and under-five mortality to at least 25 per 1,000 live births.
New executives have been elected to lead the association into its next phase.
