Accra, April 13, GNA -The country's maternal mortality rate of 540 to a 100,000 live birth has been described as outrageous because Ghana has the knowledge and technology to prevent it.

National Population Council Chairperson, Mrs Virginia Ofosu-Amaah said the current initiative to reposition family planning as a critical component of the country's social-economic development was an important aspect of Sexual Reproductive Health since it had been established that it could reduce maternal mortality by 20 to 35 percent.

Speaking at the launch of Marie Stopes International (MSI), a United Kingdom-based international non-governmental organisation working in sexual reproductive health worldwide, she expressed the frustration of population experts, health professionals, gender advocates and planners about the poor states of women's health and the unacceptably high levels of maternal health.

She therefore welcomed MSI to Ghana and commended the organisation for extending its quality services to the country. With over 30 years' experience, MSI, a social business service has been committed to providing quality information and service to help people protect themselves from Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) as well as empower them to have children by choice and not by chance. With branches in 38 countries across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, it has provided services to over four million people. Ghana and Sierra Leone are the only MSI partners in West Africa.

Mrs Ofosu-Amaah said the adoption of the Accra Communiqu=E9 on Safe Motherhood by Population Councils in West Africa and the need for it to be operational in additional to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) underscored the lack of progress in achieving the goals of the MDGs of improving maternal health by three quarters by 2015. She stressed the need to actively address the problem and urged MSI to work closely with government institutions, NGOs and communities to find a lasting solution to the high levels of Maternal and neonatal deaths in the country.

Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister of Women and Children's Affairs who outdoored MSI Ghana, said the government was committed to addressing the high levels of maternal mortality in the country ensuring that "every mother and child counts".

"Government continues to intensify its efforts at increasing access to maternal health care in the country by instituting policies and programmes, which would strengthen the capacities of health facilities and personnel in the provision of safe motherhood services" Hajia Mahama noted that the problem of maternal deaths had a strong linkage with socio-economic and cultural challenges adding, "the government under the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS 11) was implementing several programmes aimed at accelerating growth as a means of wealth creation, poverty reduction and equitable development to enable Ghana achieve middle-income status by 2015." She said the ministry was aware of the impact of religious and socio-cultural barriers on maternal health and would strategize to fight and remove barriers to reproductive health care adding that the high mortality rate was an indictment on the country. Hajia Mahama noted that the government had also introduced the Repositioning of Family Planning as a major component of health delivery and commended Marie Stopes International Ghana for the effort and called for a strong partnership between them and the Ghana Health Service to work together towards the reduction of maternal deaths and illness in Ghana.

Mrs Faustina Fynn- Nyame, MSI Country Representative said MSI was committed to reducing maternal and infant mortality in the country as well as compliment the efforts of partners such as the Ghana Health Service.

He said MSI would provide services in the areas of sexual reproductive health consultation, guidance and counselling, comprehensive family planning service, male and female clinics, antenatal and post-natal care, laboratory services and pregnancy crisis counselling and management at subsidised rates. The Country Representative said with a team of highly trained and dedicated staff, the public could be assured of quality services. These services would be replicated in deprived areas through outreach programmes.

She noted that two more centre would be established in Tema and Kumasi adding that the centre would also serve as referral centres and train health workers as well in future.

Mr James Harcourt, MSI UK, said last year, MSI partnership attended to five million clients worldwide through its network of almost 400 centres and supporting mobile outreach programmes representing 12 percent increase on the number of services provided the previous year. "The key to the partnership's success is a combination of its people, its local partner knowledge and experience as well its ability to draw on best practices and lessons leant from around the world," he said. 13 April 07