Ghana To Miss MDG Maternal Mortality Target � Director

Ghana may miss the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) target on maternal mortality, a Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate at the Ministry of Health (MOH), Dr. Emmanuel Odame has observed. Specifically, MDG 5 aims to firstly reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) and secondly achieve by 2015 universal access to reproductive health by increasing access and coverage of antenatal care, skilled delivery, and family planning and reduce adolescent birth rate. According to Dr. Odame, the latest estimates by the Maternal Mortality Estimation on Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG), indicates that the maternal mortality ratio in Ghana was 380 per 100,000 live births in 2013 adding that the figure may reach 358 per 100,000 live births in 2015. �In this scenario, Ghana will attain its 2015 MDG 5 target in 2037,� he opined. Dr. Odame made the revelation in a meeting with the Ministry of Health, the Millennium Development Goal Accelerated Framework (MAF) implementation agencies and development (donor) partners. The meeting was to firm up the Ghana Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Operational Plan of activities and their funding scenarios for effective implementation in 2015. Dr. Odame noted that the slow progress in reducing MMR has been of great concern to policy and decision makers to the extent that Maternal Mortality was declared a national emergency in July 2008. He added that though the MOH has invested in both maternal and reproductive health services since 1990, these investments have fallen short of putting the country on tract to reach the 75% reduction of the MMR required by MDG 5 as a result of funding challenges among others. The development/donor partners on the other hand took turns to update the MOH and the other implementation agencies on activities they have undertaken in the regions across the country as their contribution towards reducing the maternal mortality ratio and any additional funding to support the operational plans of the implementation agencies.