Women Urged To Champion Fight Against Illegal Abortion

The Queen mother Of Amanokrom, Nana Manko Aba, has called on women to champion the advocacy against illegal abortion to help save the lives of many women dying from the practice. She urged women groups to be bold to speak against the practice to help protect the lives of many women especially the young ones. Nana Aba made the call when she delivered the keynote address at the formal opening of the Eastern Regional Health Service Annual Review meeting for 2013 at Koforidua . The Review Meeting was organized under the theme �Strengthening Maternal and Child Health through Partnership and Quality Care�. She called on the Ministry of Health (MOH) to put in more resources and efforts to help reduce the high maternal death in the Eastern Region. In a speech read on her behalf the Eastern Regional Minister, Ms Helen Adwoa Ntoso, called on health workers and other stakeholders to put in more efforts to enable the country to realize the Millennium Development Goals on health. She appealed to the Regional Health Administration to come out with key indicators to help the Regional Coordinating Council to include the health sector in its monitoring activities. The Eastern Regional Director of Health Services, Dr McDamien, Dedzo said in 2011 the Region recorded 207 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births which reduced to 166 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2012 and increased to 192 per 100,000 live births in 2013. He said to check the situation the region had put in place measures to ensure availability of blood at the health facilities and more effective screening of hypertension in pregnant women. Dr Dedzo said, the region recorded 452 child deaths out of 9,623 infant admissions in 2011, 452 infant deaths out of 9,172 infant admissions in 2012 and 627 infant deaths in 2013.