Midwives call for awards scheme

The Ghana Registered Midwives Association (GRMA) has called for the institution of an awards scheme to give recognition to midwives who have distinguished themselves in their profession.

The association noted that while some international organisations had found it prudent to acknowledge some deserving Ghanaian midwives, the Government of Ghana had also shown appreciation for the hardworking midwives who help deliver thousands of babies each year.

At an event to swear in new executive officers of the GRMA, Mrs Joyce Jetuah, outgoing President of the association, cited two Ghanaian midwives who had received international honour: Madam Magdalene Juliet Acquah and the late Madam Mary Issaka.

International honour

Madam Acquah is known to have designed a birthing stool, a chair scooped out at the front with an armrest, backrest and raised platform for the feet.
Her work earned her an international award for the ‘Health and Dignity of Women and Girls’ in 2012 in New York, organised by Friends of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in New York.

In recognition of her invaluable work as a midwife in her community, Jhpiego, a global health non-profit organisation affiliated with Johns Hopkins University, also honoured Hajia Mary Issaka with an International Midwife Champion of the Year Award in 2010.

Mrs Jetuah noted that although Ghanaian midwives were hardworking, little was being done to motivate and recognise their efforts.

Nonetheless, she urged midwives to continue to work hard, saying that “when a midwife is well resourced with a conducive environment, 70 per cent of maternal deaths can be averted”.

Strategic plan

Touching on the activities of the association over the years, Mrs Jetuah said it had been constrained by funds but the technical and financial support from the UNFPA had helped to develop a strategic plan and helped build the capacity of members.

The immediate past secretary of the association, Mrs Paulina Siaw-Akoto Debrah, also stressed that midwives assigned to remote areas needed to be motivated.

She called on all stakeholders to work out a mechanism that would decongest public facilities by liaising for normal pregnancies to be attended to by private midwives.

While urging the district assemblies to sponsor senior high school graduates to train in midwifery to serve their communities, she further recommended that the assemblies support the expansion of road networks to ensure easy access to maternity facilities in the communities.

The new President of the Association, Mrs Netta Forson Ackon, pledged the commitment of the new executive to foster stronger stakeholders’ engagement.

The other executive members are Hajia Damata Sulemana, Vice-President; Mrs Fredrica E. Hanson, Secretary; Mrs Gifty Baidoo, Treasurer, Mrs Frances Hugh Kafui Tamakloe, Assistant Treasurer, and Mrs Hilda Appiah Danquah, Communications Officer.