Delay, major cause of maternal mortality, stillbirths in Accra

Researchers with the OnTime Consortium, a maternal research-oriented group, have urged policymakers to take steps to help mitigate the trend of in-transit delays for pregnant women in emergencies. 

According to the researchers, delays associated with the movement of pregnant women in an emergency to health facilities to seek care had contributed to a lot of maternal fatalities and stillbirths across the country.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, at a stakeholder briefing in Accra, the Principal Investigator of the OnTime Project, Dr Aduragbemi Banke-Thomas, said the trend of maternal deaths due to in-transit was a time bomb in coming years if drastic measures were not taken.

“According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2020, there were about 2,400 maternal deaths in Ghana accounting for one per cent of the global deaths. Also, there were 20,800 stillbirths. These statistics are alarming.

“These deaths have been attributed to delays in decision-making to seek health care, but our research has shown that delays in transit for pregnant women in an emergency have led to many deaths,” he said.

Dr Banke-Thomas also intimated that the urbanisation rate in the country had made movement very slow leading to these deaths during emergencies.

“More than half of the country’s over 30 million population live in urban areas. A 4.2 per cent urban growth rate suggests rapid growth which is not expected to slow down. By 2030, about seven in 10 Ghanaians will be living in an urban setting,” he said.

OnTime Project

Speaking on the project, Dr Winfred Dotse-Gborgbortsi, an epidemiologist at the University of Southampton, said the OnTime Consortium's research provided a critical foundation for policymakers and healthcare planners to make informed decisions about how to improve access to emergency obstetric care and reduce maternal and newborn mortality.

Some participants in the stakeholders meeting

He said by leveraging big data and innovative technology, the project aimed at making a significant impact on the lives of women and families in Ghana.

He stated that OnTime Consortium, a partnership between researchers and Google, also aimed to reduce maternal and newborn mortality by optimising access to emergency obstetric care and addressing the critical issue of travel time to health facilities, particularly in emergencies.

He indicated that although the data gathered revealed promising results, with many health facilities providing good quality services. The research team also identified areas for improvement, including the availability of ambulances and emergency transportation services.

Assurance

At the event, the Director- General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Prof. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, said the “GHS recognises the immense value of the evidence-based data in shaping effective policy and healthcare delivery”.

He urged the OnTime Consortium to actively engage the Family Health Life Division for a deep dive into the findings from the study, to enhance service planning and delivery.

Prof. Akoriyea assured the team of the GHS's commitment to supporting all efforts that aim at extending the benefits of this initiative to all parts of the country.