Improved skills training crucial to reducing newborn deaths – Dr Antwi

Dignitaries and participants

The need to improved skilled training among health professionals refarding newborn care has been identified as crucial to reducing neonatal deaths in the country.

Additionally, strategic partnership and consistent allocation of resources to the fieldare essential to help Ghana achieve its set targets on newborn health in line with international goals.

The Programme Manager of Child Health at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Edward Antwi, made this recommendation at the opening of the 12th Annual Newborn stakeholder’s conference in Accra yesterday.

On the theme; ‘Improving respiratory care for the newborn within the network of practice,’ the two-day conference aimed at updating policy makers and key stakeholders on the state of newborn health in Ghana, review strategies for improved care and take stock of implementation of action plans in newborn care.

Currently, Ghana’s neonatal death rate stands at 17 per 1,000 live birth with infant and under-five mortalities at 28 and 40 deaths per 1,000 live births, respectively.

This means that, of every 25 children born in Ghana, one does not survive their fifth birthday.

With only six years remaining to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target to reduce neonatal mortality to least 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to as low as 25 per 1,000 live births, Ghana would have to intensify efforts in that direction to attain the goal by 2030.

Dr Antwi, in his presentation on the state of child health in Ghana,pointed out infrastructural challenges, inadequate health personnel, insufficient funding and limited access to quality of care in terms of referral and coordination of care as some factors inhibiting the delivery of quality newborn care in the country.

He called on the government, development partners, among other key stakeholders to ensure the consistent commitment of resources to newborn health to secure the lives.

In his remarks, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, stressed the need to improve respiratory care in order to enhance the quality of lives of newborns.

He also noted that while Ghana had made strides in neonatal health, reducing deaths to 17 per 1,000 live births, challenges persist in childhood immunisation, childhood illnesses, breastfeeding, health staff competency and requisite equipment, among others to ensure quality newborn care.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye expressed the resolve of the GHS to continue working at addressing gaps in the provision of newborn care and called on all partners to support the Service to deliver on its target.

The Minister of Health, Dr Bernard Oko Boye, on his part noted that improving newborn care was essential to safeguarding the country’s future.

“Each newborn deserves a chance to thrive, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that no child’s life is cut short due to preventable causes,” he said.

Dr Oko Boye called for strengthened coordination of efforts, both bilaterally and multilaterally, to “not only eliminates duplication, but also enhance efficiencies and synergies within the health sector to ensure no one is left behind.”

BY ABIGAIL ANNOH