Nkoranza, (B/A) Jan. 6, GNA – The Nkoranza South District Directorate of Health Services recorded 230 abortion cases from January to December last year.

Madam Salamatu Ibrahim, District Director of Health Services, who made this known, said the unsafe practice of terminating pregnancy had been identified as the major cause of maternal deaths in the area.

Madam Ibrahim was briefing a district assembly meeting at Nkoranza during which she announced the establishment of a number of Community Health Planning Services (CHPS) in deprived communities in the area to help curtail unsafe abortion practices.

Madam Ibrahim said technical assistants and nurses who serve at the CHPS centres provides direct health services to the people through visits to their homes to offer good medical education.

She expressed regret about the increasing number of maternal deaths in the area in spite of efforts being made by the service to minimise the problem by 2015 under the Millennium Development Goals.

The District Director cautioned teenage girls against the use of herbal concoctions for the termination of pregnancies, stressing: “The practice can shorten... life”.

Lack of adequate number of medical assistants, midwives and nurses also poses a big challenge to the directorate, Madam Ibrahim added.

She explained that one community health nurse attends to about 2,000 people, a midwife; about 4,789 people, whilst a medical assistant caters for about 21,051 people.

Madam Ibrahim appealed to the district assembly to assist the health management team to construct more CHPS centres in very deprived communities to make health delivery affordable and accessible to the people.