The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has asked the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Police Service and other agencies concerned to investigate the circumstances surrounding the missing baby at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi.

In a statement issued in Accra Sunday, the ministry urged the Ministry of Health, the police, the Ashanti REGSEC and others concerned to, as a matter of urgency, get to the bottom of the issue and other similar cases to unravel the truth.

“This will not only lay the nagging questions to rest but also boost public confidence in the public health system, as well as safeguard the rights of women,” it said.

In line with its commitment to ensure a harmonious society in which the development and the survival of all persons were guaranteed, the ministry said it was putting modalities in place to provide professional counselling and psycho-social support for the mother and the family.

Background

On February 5, this year, a baby boy was stillborn to Madam Suwaiba Abdul Mumin but the body was rather picked up by a cleaner who had gone to tidy up the ward on that day.

The cleaner, Baba Abeley, claimed to have picked up the box containing the body of the baby and two others and sent same to the incinerator for burning.

A group of young men and women numbering about 50 invaded the Maternity Ward of the hospital, assaulted nurses, midwives and doctors on duty and vandalised hospital property, all in the name of demanding the body of the baby.

Four members of the mob were arrested.

Following the attack on some of the health workers of the hospital, the workers embarked on a strike.

The concerns

The ministry sympathised with the mother of the baby, saying, “clearly worrying is the trauma the mother is going through as a result of the nagging questions that would otherwise have alleviated her pain and loss.”

It further said the current situation raised grave concerns about institutional processes and procedures that guaranteed the protection of the rights of women such as Madam Mumin.

“It further undermines the ministry and the country’s already challenged efforts at reducing maternal and child mortality in line with the Millennium Development Goals.

“Finally, the development casts a slur on the work ethics and attitude of hospital workers,” the statement said.