Dambai: The Oti Regional Coordinating Council (ORCC), in partnership with the Oti Regional Health Directorate and supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has conducted a one-day training workshop aimed at bolstering the capabilities of midwives throughout the Oti Region.
According to Ghana News Agency, the workshop, held in Dambai, gathered midwives from various healthcare facilities within the Krachi East and Nkwanta South Municipalities, as well as the Nkwanta North District. The training, titled Basic Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (BEmONC), was focused on equipping frontline healthcare providers with essential skills and knowledge to effectively manage childbirth complications, thereby enhancing maternal and newborn health outcomes.
Facilitators emphasized that this program was the first of its kind in the Oti region. Madam Veronica Kakah, representing the Oti Regional Health Directorate, stated that the workshop was part of ongoing efforts to lower maternal mortality and morbidity through continuous professional development of health workers. She highlighted the importance of building the capacity of midwives who serve as frontline providers in health centers and CHPS compounds, with a particular focus on those involved in maternal and child health services.
Madam Kakah further mentioned that improving maternal health outcomes necessitates regular capacity-building interventions to enable healthcare providers to deliver quality and timely services. She expressed the goal of the workshop as refreshing knowledge and equipping health providers with the necessary skills to reduce maternal mortality to the lowest possible level.
Participants were urged to take the training seriously and apply the acquired knowledge in their respective facilities to prevent avoidable maternal and neonatal deaths. Madam Kakah stressed the importance of preventing preventable cases to ensure the health and survival of mothers and babies.
Available data revealed that 965 women who sought institutional delivery services in 2025 did not survive to return to their families. National maternal mortality data also showed 868 deaths in 2024, marking an increase from the previous year, with approximately 70 percent of these deaths occurring in about 11 health facilities nationwide.
As part of the intervention, mentors and supervisors will be assigned to beneficiary facilities to offer continuous technical support and monitor the practical application of skills acquired during the training. This initiative is part of broader efforts by the government and development partners to enhance maternal and newborn healthcare services and achieve sustained reductions in maternal and neonatal mortality across the country.