The First Lady and Head of the Rebecca Foundation Rebecca Akufo-Addo has called for more focus and attention on the pre-conception and inter-conception stages of maternal care.

She said paying attention to maternal health issues can help in early identification of health conditions in babies and even fetuses that can prevent death or disability and help babies reach their full abilities and potential. 

Mrs Akufo-Addo said this when she handed over a renovated and refurbished maternity ward facility at the Bawjiase Health Center to the Ghana Health Service, Tuesday.

“Pregnancies can serve as an indicator in identifying health risks in women such as hypertension, diabetes, depression, genetic conditions amongst other things and this can help in the prevention of future health risks for both mothers and their children,” she said. 

Speaking to Sustainable Development Goal 3, which sets a target for reducing maternal mortality rate to less than 70 per 100,000 live births, she said, “though there were significant declines to this effect, statistics show that approximately 830 women die a day during childbirth.” 

President Akufo-Addo had said government’s initiative of spearheading Ghana Beyond Aid is to find the right resources to solve the country's own problems adding “if we all contribute to this initiative in our own small ways, it will positively impact every part of our lives.”

Aside the renovation works on the facility, Mrs Akufo-Addo also donated one incubator, five hospital beds, one delivering bed, one patient medical table, ten gowns and one Medical cabinet to the facility. 

Other items include ten Complete Delivery System, ten Advanced Wound Dressing Materials, five Pressure Bed Sheets and ten Bed pans.      
  
Touching on the need for the exhibition of professional conduct by health professionals, she said, “the tales of pregnant women and their babies who have died during childbirth due to the apparent negligence of present health professionals present is sadly rampant.” 

    
She commended the Member of Parliament for the area, Nenyi George Andah for ensuring that the needs of patients are of prime importance by assisting to renovate and refurbish the ward. 

The equipment she said, “will immensely improve the standards of healthcare delivery in the centre and will further contribute to elevating the status of this health centre to a Polyclinic as promised by the government.” 

She commended government for making provisions to post a permanent resident doctor to the facility and appealed to the management and staff to make good use of the equipment supplied.