Tema, Jan. 13, GNA - The Tema Metropolitan Office of the Births and Deat= hs Registry recorded a decrease in both births and deaths registration last year. The Registry registered a total of 15,695 births in 2009 as compared to 18,284 recorded in 2008, representing 14.15 percent decrease. It also registered 2,029 deaths in 2009 as against 2,139 registered deat= hs in 2008 which showed a 5.14 percent decline.

Madam Hanna Twumasi-Ankrah, Tema Metropolitan Director of the Births and=

Deaths Registry, gave the statistics in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tema on Wednesday. Madam Twumasi-Ankrah, who gave the breakdown of the births as 8,484 male= s and 7,211 females, added that out of the total figure of 10,344, 5,207 ma= les and 5,137 females were births registered during the year. A total of 5,396 births, comprising 3,307 males and 2,089 females registered in 2009, were older than one year. She indicated that the highest births were recorded in the second quarte= r of the year, which saw the registration of 4,098 children, followed by 4,= 009 in the first quarter, 3,888 in the third quarter and 3,700 in the fourth quarter of the year 2009. Madam Twumasi-Ankrah stated that out of the 2,029 deaths registered last=

year, 1,162 were males and 867 were females.

She said 57 infant child mortalities were recorded last year, showing an=

increase over 50 registered in 2008.

The records, she said, revealed that the highest deaths of 552 were registered during the first quarter of last year, 507 in the third quarte= r and 497 and 473 in the fourth and second quarters respectively. She noted that cardio-related diseases accounted for majority of the dea= ths registered. She, therefore, advised the public to take physical exercise serious and=

attend periodic medical checkups. Touching on the challenges of her outfit, she said limited funds were allocated to the Registry, despite the numerous outreach programmes and m= ass registration exercises it undertook to ensure the availability of accurat= e and reliable data. Madam Twumasi-Ankrah stated that but for the support of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) it would have been difficult for the Registry= to meet its targets. 13 Jan. 09