The Upper East Region has made remarkable improvement in the implementation of the Mother-Baby Friendly Health Facility Initiative (MBFHFI) in the Upper East, according to UNICEF’s programme coordinator Dr. Priscilla Wobil.
The Mother-Baby Friendly Health Facility Initiative (MBHFI) is the ninth of 14 strategies being implemented by the Ghana Health Service under its National Newborn strategy and action plan, with support from UNICEF through the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.
The project, which aims at ending all preventable maternal and newborn deaths towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, was piloted in four selected districts of the region namely Bolgatanga municipal, Bawku municipal, Bongo and Kassena-Nankana West districts.
According to Dr Priscilla Wobil, the program has brought significant improvement in the quality of health care and rendered mothers and their babies with a reduction in stillbirths and neonatal mortality.
Speaking in an interview with Citi News, at the first quarter review meeting held in Bolgatanga, Dr. Wobil attributed the commitment of health personnel and their leaders at the districts and regional for the success chalked.
“From October to December, they [health personnel] worked on improving counseling, to ensure that every mother who comes to the facility to deliver will be counseled on breast feeding, family planning, new born and maternal danger signs so that if there is any problem, they can come to the facility immediately for redress”.
She impressed on health personnel in the region to work hard at ensuring the region attains the objectives of the programme.
The National Director of family health department of the Ghana health service, Dr. Patrick Kuma Aboagye said even though Ghana received an award as the best maternal mortality improved country in Africa, there was the need to still improve the quality of health care at facilities.
He added that, the establishment of nutrition clinics, increase in data collection and distribution of iron foliage to menstruating women (aged 10 to 19) were among others strategies of addressing maternal and neonatal dangers.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
