Tema General Hospital for the first time in many years is witnessing a sharp decline in the maternal mortality rate. Many years ago the hospital could record as high as 40 maternal deaths in a year due to under-resourced labour ward, delayed reported cases among other factors. Statistics available indicate that between January and August 2018, the facility recorded 20 cases but that has reduced to eight, same period this year. Principal Nursing Officer, Unit Head at the labour ward, Joana Boakye disclosed this in an interview with Joy News when MTN Foundation visited the facility. Tema General Hospital is a referral centre attends to cases beyond its catchment area including those from some parts of Volta region. The situation put extreme pressure on the hospital’s limited resources. “In the previous building, you realize that there weren’t enough beds so mothers in labour could be on benches waiting to get a bed to deliver. This made it difficult to monitor them. We end up losing babies and mothers getting complications,” she said. According to her, they sometimes lose either mother, baby or both. Over the years, constant media reportage on the facility’s challenges caught MTN Foundation’s attention. MTN Foundation within 18 months built, furnished and handed over an ultra-modern 40-bed maternity block worth ¢ 5.5 million in 2018 to Tema General Hospital. Joana Boakye said the new building is spacious, has enough beds, ultra-modern equipment, theatre among other things making their work much easier than before. According to her, they were traumatised anytime a mother died during delivery. “With this structure, we are highly motivated. When you deliver care and you have a negative outcome, nobody knows the trauma we go through,” Boakye said. She added that the new environment gives them extra energy to work. “Now we are happy, come to work knowing we can save lives in the event of a complication, you are prepared to assist and if it ends negative you know you did your best,” she shared. Meanwhile, Corporate Services Executive at MTN, Samuel Koranteng is excited the new maternity facility is saving lives. “We are more than happy to know that this unit is impacting positively on deliveries for this hospital as well as mortality for mothers. And the figures speak for themselves. Now that the figure has dropped to eight, we hope it will further decline to zero by the time we visit next year,” Mr Koranteng said. Over 5000 babies have so far been delivered at the new maternity unit in the last 12 months.