The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has said it has become necessary for it to carry out a nationwide survey to determine the level of maternal mortality and causes of maternal deaths in the country.
The exercise, which consists of data collection at the household level as well as the level of individual women affected, will help the Ministry of Health (MoH) to get information about maternal deaths and pregnancy-related issues in the country to put preventive measures and strategies in place.
The survey is being spearheaded by the MoH and Ghana Health Service with funding from European Union and United States Agency for International Development.
Mr Peter Takyi Peprah, Head, Field Operations and Logistics of the GSS, told the DAILY HERITAGE that it has been 10 years since the last survey was carried out and that the World Health Organisation has been coming out with certain figures from estimates but it was necessary for a country like Ghana to carry out such surveys so that officials have an idea, not just the figures, but to know the causes of death as they vary from country to country.
“This is also to monitor whether the interventions put in place have impact or not. Also, the survey will help MoH to put in place policies that will help eradicate maternal deaths in the country,” he said.
According to Mr Peprah, there are two phases of the exercise; “Phase one consists of visiting about 900 selected areas, gathering information about households in various houses and collecting information about death of adult female household members between 12-54 years that occurred in the last five years.”
He added that field officers had been trained and deployed to the field across the 10 regions of the country to collect the data for the phase. About 75 days have been earmarked for the field work, starting from now to April, 13, 2017.
“Another group of trained field officers will be deployed in May 2017 for the phase two of the exercise to solicit information on specific causes of maternal and non-maternal deaths, and specifically be able to identify deaths due to abortion related causes among adult women; women’s perceptions and experience with antenatal, maternity, and emergency obstetrical care, especially with regard to care received before, during, and following the termination of a pregnancy,” said the Head, Field Operations and Logistics of NSS.
In all, the survey would study women in about 27,000 households in 900 Enumeration Areas across the country.
GSS is therefore appealing to households and communities that would be visited to provide the interviewers with the needed cooperation in the discharge of their duties.
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