Deaths caused by Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) or stroke increased from one percent in 2011 to nine percent of the total deaths of admitted cases in 2012, Dr Akwesi Twumasi, Northern Regional Director of the Ghana Health Services has disclosed.

He said cases of Out-Patient-Department attendance due to hypertension in 2012 significantly increased from about 42,000 in 2011 to 53,000 in 2012.

The meeting themed: “Addressing the Challenges of Maternal and Child Health Service – The Role of Quality Health Data”, seeks to appraise the region’s performance in healthcare delivery in the previous year and to strategise on how to improve on its services.

He said maternal deaths reduced from 115 in 2011 to 108 in 2012.

Dr Twumasi said the directorate lacked health workers especially critical personnel such as doctors, professional nurses, nurse anesthetist, pharmacists, midwives and laboratory technicians.

“Even though the staff strength increased in the course of the year from about 3,600 to 4,200, the vast nature of the region required more personnel to serve the growing population”, he said.

He complained of the encroachment on the facilities of some health institutions and appealed to the chiefs to counsel community members to desist from such acts.

Von-Naa Mohammed Baba Bawa, a Member of the Council of State, said gathering of accurate data on maternal and child health with the aid of information communication technology could help stakeholders in the health sector to gain a clearer picture of the situation at hand.

He appealed to the health directorate to make data gathering and research a priority due to the significant role it could play in the nations quest to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

Alhaji Mohammed Isshaku, Northern Regional Coordinating Director, said government would renege on its promise towards strengthening and transforming the National Health Insurance Scheme to ensuring its effective implementation.