Govt launches five-year multisectoral initiative to tackle preventable maternal deaths

The government has launched a five-year multisectoral initiative to tackle persistent gaps in maternal and newborn healthcare, including emergency referrals, transport, staffing, access to blood and medicines, essential equipment and health data.

Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang said the Presidential Initiative on Maternal Health Emergency Response (PRIMER) would address challenges that individual health facilities could not resolve on their own.

Speaking at the national launch of PRIMER on Monday, September 14, 2026, she said the initiative would bring together ministries, public institutions, local authorities, traditional and religious leaders, civil society, the private sector and communities to improve maternal health outcomes.

“PRIMER is to help address obstacles that no single health institution can remove, whether in financing, infrastructure, staffing, procurement, data or community mobilisation,” she said.

According to the Vice President, the initiative would strengthen coordination across the health system while building on programmes and interventions already being implemented by government and its partners.

PRIMER will focus on three broad pillars: political leadership and social mobilisation; institutionalised accountability and evidence-based action; and sustainable domestic financing alongside responsible external support.

It will also target maternity and newborn care, referral and transport systems, access to blood, medicines and essential equipment, community engagement and the use of data to improve decision-making.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said PRIMER would strengthen maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response, improve the timeliness and quality of data, clarify institutional responsibilities and support regular high-level reviews of results.

She stressed that the initiative must have clear targets, responsibilities and reporting arrangements, with progress reviewed regularly and lessons from high-performing regions and facilities applied elsewhere.

“PRIMER cannot succeed as a stand-alone programme nor duplicate the work already underway across government,” she said.

The Vice President said factors affecting maternal survival extended beyond the health sector, including communication, transport, water and energy, making coordination with other institutions essential.

She also urged families and communities to encourage women to seek care early, recognise danger signs and ensure they receive timely support during pregnancy and childbirth.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said the ultimate measure of PRIMER’s success would not simply be the number of women accessing health facilities, but whether they survived childbirth with their babies.

“It is not enough for many more women to enter our health facilities. They must return home safely with their babies to their families,” she said.

PRIMER is expected to provide a coordinated national response to persistent maternal health challenges as Ghana works towards reducing preventable maternal deaths and meeting the Sustainable Development Goal target of fewer than 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.

Credit: Citi News