The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has donated a cross-country Land Cruizer with audio visual facilities to the Northern Regional Health Directorate, to help in undertaking outreach programmes relating to maternal health.

Dr. Babatunde Ahonsi, UNFPA Country Representative to Ghana handed over the vehicle to officials of the Northern Regional Health Directorate at a ceremony witnessed by Alhaji Limuna Mohammed-Muniru, Northern Regional Minister, in Tamale on Tuesday.

Dr. Ahonsi said the vehicle was to help undertake health promotion campaigns at districts that were critically constrained in maternal health care delivery, to ensure that women and pregnant mothers have access to information on maternal care.

He said this would encourage the women to access such services regularly to avoid maternal mortality and help attain the Millennium Development Goals.

Some of the districts with poor maternal health records in the region included Bunkpurugu Yunyoo, Nanumba North, East Gonja, and Kpandai.

Dr. Ahonsi urged that maternal health promotion campaigns be developed in various local languages to enable all to understand the messages for maximum impact.

Alhaji Mohammed-Muniru thanked UNFPA for its commitment at supporting national efforts to improve healthcare delivery to women in the Region.

Dr. James Sarkodie, Deputy Director in-charge of Critical Care at the Northern Regional Health Directorate, said efforts were being made to improve maternal healthcare delivery at the critically constrained districts in the Region.

Dr. Sarkodie said most hospitals provided various maternal healthcare services but some pregnant women were not aware of such services and described the donation as timely, since it would help to bridge the information gap to encourage women to access the services.