The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) says it has recorded a decline in institutional maternal deaths for the first time in a decade.

The hospital recorded 55 maternal deaths between January and June 2026, down from 78 during the same period in 2025, representing a reduction of about 30 per cent.

KATH Chief Executive Officer, Dr Paa Kwesi Baidoo, described the development as a significant improvement, stressing that no woman should die from pregnancy-related complications.

He made the disclosure on Thursday at the opening of the hospital’s 2026 Mid-year Performance Review Conference in Kumasi.

Dr Baidoo attributed the reduction partly to the operationalisation of the hospital’s Maternal Intensive Care Unit, with support from anaesthesia and intensive care specialists.

The unit has an eight-bed capacity, although four beds are currently operational.

He expressed optimism that maternal deaths could fall further once the remaining beds became available.

Dr Baidoo said KATH had also strengthened its collaboration with the Ashanti Regional Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service to provide clinical mentorship and capacity-building support to health facilities in the region.

The initiative, he said, was aimed at improving the quality of clinical care and referrals, particularly for women requiring specialised maternal services.

KATH has historically recorded high numbers of maternal deaths, partly because it serves as a major referral centre for patients from across the Ashanti Region and beyond.

Dr Baidoo said the figures should not be interpreted as an indication of poor quality care, given the large number of patients and complex cases referred to the hospital.

The hospital has also completed work on its Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Centre, which is expected to become operational this month.

According to Dr Baidoo, the facility will make KATH the first public health facility in Ghana to operate a state-of-the-art specialist fertility centre.

The hospital’s main Dialysis Centre has also undergone refurbishment and has been reopened to expand access to specialist dialysis services.

It currently has 13 functioning dialysis machines, with additional machines available at the Accident and Emergency Centre.

Between January and June 2026, KATH recorded 149,055 attendances at its Specialist Out-Patient Department, exceeding its mid-year target of 139,740.

The figure also represented a 3.61 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2025.

Emergency attendance reached 14,467, against a target of 12,400, representing 116.67 per cent achievement and an 8.66 per cent year-on-year increase.

Laboratory services recorded 174,367 cases, exceeding the target of 160,401 by 108.71 per cent and representing a 26.49 per cent increase over the previous year’s mid-year figure.

Primary care attendance stood at 37,500, slightly below the target of 37,900.

Dr Baidoo, however, acknowledged that some areas of the hospital’s operations required further attention.

He said performance in deliveries, surgeries, physiotherapy, radiotherapy and some admission figures fell below targets set for the first half of the year.

The hospital says it will focus on these areas while sustaining the gains recorded in maternal care and other specialist services.