The Maternal and Child Survival Project being implemented by the Ghana Red Cross Society has encouraged many to women in the Upper East Region to deliver at health facilities and seek antenatal and post natal services.

This was made known when the Secretary General of the Ghana Red Cross Society (GRCS), Mr Samuel Kofi Addo, the Country Representative of the Swiss Red Cross Society, Mr Seth Addae –Kyeremeh and the Programme Coordinator of the Swiss Red Cross in charge of West Africa, Ms Carole Hinden, paid a monitoring and evaluation visit to the Region to see how the project is faring and to improve upon its implementation.

The three- year project, with support from the Ghana Health Service, launched in 2014 is aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality, Nabdam, Binduri and Bongo districts.

The Swiss Red Cross Society presented a brand new Toyota Hilux pick-up vehicle, eight motorbikes and computers to the Ghana Red Cross to help boost the implementation of the project.

Mr Joseph Abarike, Regional Manager of the GRCS, said with the capacity building training given to the mothers’ clubs of the GRCS, many pregnant women are becoming aware of the importance of delivering at health facilities instead of homes, which hitherto led to health complication and sometimes death.

Mr Samuel Kofi Addo, Secretary General of the GRCS said apart from the Maternal and Child Survival project, the Swiss Red Cross Society is also supporting his outfit to implement a Disaster Risk Reduction Project in Disaster prone areas in the Region.

Mr Seth Addae –Kyeremeh, Country Representative of the Swiss Red Cross Society, noted that the two organisations would continue to compliment government’s efforts in tackling issues pertaining to humanity.

The strategic vision of the Swiss Red Cross is in tandem with the Ghana Red Cross Society, we will continue to collaborate with it to advance the course of humanity. In the past the Swiss Red Cross is focusing on giving relief to victims of disaster but now we have shifted from that to the prevention of disaster, hence our partnership with the Ghana Red Cross Society in implementing the Disaster Risk Reduction project,” he said.

Ms Carole Hinden, Programme Coordinator of the Swiss Red Cross in charge of West Africa, said she was impressed by the output of the two projects and reiterated the need for the staff of the GRCS to work harder to make a greater impact.