Ghana is experiencing a concerning decline in maternal and child health outcomes, despite an increase in trained health workers.

According to Dr. Kennedy Brightson, Director for Public Health at the Ghana Health Service, key indicators such as skilled delivery coverage, adolescent antenatal attendance, and child immunisation have all recorded steady declines between 2022 and 2024.

Speaking at the 5th Maternal, Child Health and Nutrition Conference in Accra, Dr. Brightson expressed dismay at the rising number of maternal deaths, with 806 pregnant women dying in 2022, 861 in 2023, and 819 in 2024.

"800 maternal deaths a year is not something we should ever accept," he emphasised.

The conference, themed "Strengthening Free Primary Health Care – Accelerating Equity and Access to Reproductive, Maternal, Child, Adolescent and Nutrition Services towards attainment of the SDG 2030," highlighted the need for urgent investments in primary health care, nutrition, and quality of care to avert preventable deaths and rising complications among women and children.

Dr. Brightson noted that the rising incidence of Visico-Vaginal Fistula (VVF), a childbirth injury that leaves women leaking urine continuously, is a major complication confronting maternal health.

Despite specialists repairing fistula cases, the numbers remain overwhelming, with only 80 repairs targeted in 2025 due to limited funding.

The Ghana Health Service is calling for stronger health financing, improved supply chains, better coordination across government agencies, and expanded community health systems to address these challenges.

"Primary health care is the backbone of our health system. If it fails, mothers, newborns, children, adolescents, and the elderly will pay the price," Dr. Brightson warned.

Other speakers at the conference highlighted the silent nutrition crisis in Ghana, with rising consumption of ultra-processed foods and poor food-related behaviours contributing to high deficiencies in essential micronutrients among women and children.

Dr. Maxwell Bisala Konla, a Dietitian at the University of Ghana Hospital, urged the government to make healthy diets more affordable and integrate nutrition into every primary health care touchpoint.

Dr. Promise Sefogah, General Secretary of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Ghana (SOGOG), called for urgent policy attention to women in the menopausal transition, emphasising the need for universal access to respectful, quality obstetric care