The Ghana Health Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has praised its partners in the sector for working hard to improve quality health delivery.

Akua Kwateng-Addo lauded the achievements for being “catalytic in encouraging facilities to build a sound financial foundation, which ultimately led to improved quality of services.”

She also highlighted the importance of public-private partnerships in light of Ghana’s Beyond Aid vision.

“Given limited donor funds, it has become imperative to identify alternate and innovative avenues for attracting resources and management expertise of the private sector,” she added.

She was speaking at an event organized by USAID and its partners to celebrate the transformation of private maternity homes in the country last Friday.

Midwives, government representatives, USAID staff, and partners gathered in Accra to mark the occasion.

The event included presentations, poster exhibitions, and a panel discussion on revitalizing the private maternity sector in Ghana.

The President of Ghana Registered Midwives Association, Netta Ackon; USAID/Ghana Health Office Director Akua Kwateng-Addo; the President and CEO of Banyan Global, Meaghan Smith, and Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service representatives were in attendance.

Private maternity homes are an important provider of maternal and child health care in the country, but they have experienced a steady decline over the past decade as midwives have aged and facilities have closed.

Since 2014, USAID and its partners have worked to revive the private maternity sector in underserved areas of the country.

These efforts include working with existing private maternity homeowners, providing training and assistance in both clinical and business skills, and assisting private maternity homes to complete ownership or management transformations designed to help the health facility survive the departure of the primary owner/midwife.