The First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama has called for the strengthening of midwifery education to provide innovative, evidence-based and cost effective quality care to women, children and the society at large.
She said midwives render invaluable services and therefore they must be supported to meet the challenges of reproductive health.
Mrs Mahama said these in an address read for her at the 40th anniversary celebration of the Midwifery Training School at Hohoe, which was under the theme, “Reducing Maternal Mortality- Key to National Development: Our Collective Responsibility.”
She described the country’s maternal mortality rate of 380 per 100,000 live births and the under five mortality rate of 78 per 1,000 live births as far ahead of the standards specified in the Millennium Development Goal Four and Five (MDGs 4&5).
[contextly_sidebar id=”5hYnax9GXcB3jdfWWYYHhFrbUPdDDxM4″]The First Lady said government and the Lordina Foundation will continue to build and expand health infrastructure with the collaboration of development partners to make healthcare delivery more accessible.
She said “together we will carry forward the maternal and child healthcare strategies for accelerated progress for all.”
For his part, Dr Kwaku Agyeman-Mensah, Minister of Health said government anticipates that with the right strategy and attitudes the unwarranted deaths could be prevented by deploying time-tested technologies.
He challenged all health institutions to strictly enforce the Service code of ethics and disciplinary procedures with the view of curbing the spate of indiscipline in the industry.
Dr Agyeman-Mensah commended the School for churning out a total of 1,862 midwives since its inception.
Ms Helen Adjoa Ntoso, Volta Regional Minister said government would construct new district hospitals at Dambai, Adaklu and Kpassa to augment the existing facilities in addition to taking concrete steps to upgrade a number of health facilities, supply medical equipment and build new community-based health planning systems (CHPS) compounds in the region.
She announced that works on the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) have reached an advanced stage stating that government was committed to building the necessary infrastructure and personnel to provide the needs in the health sector.
Ms Narki Doku, Principal of the School, said her outfit was envisioned to become a centre of excellence in the training of reproductive health professionals in the country and beyond with a workforce of 57 including 17 tutors and complemented by part time, mentee tutors and national service personnel.
Ms Doku said the school’s academic performance was impressive this year, scoring 91.7 percent in the licensing examination, placing fourth on the national performance index, a feat the school exhibited by topping the nation in 2011, where students recorded 87.5 percent.
She commended the government for completing works on the multi-purpose block comprising classrooms, tutors offices, computer and skills acquisition laboratories, the expansion of the library.
Ms Doku announced that the School has been granted institutional accreditation by the national Accreditation Board as a tertiary institution since September 2013 and affiliated to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Togbega Gabusu VI, Paramount Chief of Gbi Traditional Area, who chaired the function, urged stakeholders to play their roles effectively for the attainment of health for all.
Source: GNA