“Childbirth is not a disease. We have known for decades what it takes to ensure the survival of women and their babies in childbirth. But if our mothers are to survive, then the Ghanaian public must step up, and become more involved and vigilant.”— Prof. Richard Adanu, Country Director for Mama Ye Ghana.Although Ghana as a country has been harnessing and marshalling enough resources towards the fight against maternal and infant mortality over the years, results of that sustained effort have not been spectacular.Latest statistics on the situation is awesome. Figures obtained from World Health Organisation, UNICEF, UNFPA and Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) documents reveal the following: life time risk of maternal death in Ghana is one in 68; every year 2,700 women die from causes related to pregnancy and child birth; maternal mortality ratio in 2010 was 350 per 100,000 births; in 2011 there were 23,000 newborn deaths, the equivalent of three in an hour, and one in every 13 Ghanaian children dies before their fifth birthday! These statistics are indeed dismal and unacceptable, especially against the backdrop of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5. MDG 4 demands of us to reduce infant mortality. The target is to reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under five years old mortality rate, from 93 children of every 1,000 dying to 31 of every 1,000. Child deaths are falling, but much more needs to be done in order to reach the development goal. Even to some of us, the posture should be 'zero tolerance for maternal and infant mortality'. But in the circumstance in which we find ourselves, we have to grudgingly tolerate the targets set by the United Nations (UN).Similarly, MDG 5 requires of us as a nation, to improve maternal mortality. The targets for improving maternal health include reducing by three-fourths the maternal mortality ratio and achieving universal access to reproductive health.The obstacles to safe child bearing in Ghana are well known, and these include uncontrolled bleeding, infection, poor medical care and lack of education. But a social movement called MamaYe, believes that if we pull our collective efforts together we can reduce, if not wholly eliminate, the said obstacles to enable our mothers to have safe delivery while at the same time ensuring that their babies survive.Prof Adanu, who is also the Dean of School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, explains that ”MamaYe is a campaign to both educate and encourage communities to take collective and individual action for pregnant mothers amongst them. It will seek to overcome ingrained belief that responsibility for maternal survival rests elsewhere: with 'the government', 'the ministry', 'professionals', 'the UN' or foreign donors. For Mama Ye, the active participation of Ghanaians as a whole is critical ingredient.”At the official launch of Mama Ye in Accra three weeks ago, Vicky T. Okine, Executive Director of Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR), rhapsodised about the Mama Ye idea, to wit, ”It is a campaign for all of us, by all of us, to change fatalism to hope, helplessness to action, and best-guesses into hard facts. It is a campaign that celebrates the many individuals and organizations across Africa who work tirelessly to make pregnancy and child birth safer, so that others can be encouraged and inspired to do same. It is a campaign for every person, no matter what their background or profession, to become involved in the maternal and newborn survival.”The Mama Ye campaign is the initiative of Evidence for Action (E4A), a multi-year programme across five sub-Saharan African countries: Ethiopia, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Malawi and Ghana. Funded by the UK Department for International Development (DfID), MamaYe focuses on using a strategic combination of evidence, advocacy and accountability to save lives.In Ghana the programme is being rolled out across four regions and these are Greater Accra, Volta, Ashanti and Upper West region by School of Public Health, University of Ghana, and Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights, until 2016. It is focusing on improving the training and supervision of maternal and newborn processes in health centres. Additionally, it is facilitating stronger relationship between communities, clients and healthcare providers, and better use of evidence to inform decision making at all levels, from individual to political.Thus the Mama Ye model of ensuring the survival of women and newborn is an integrated and holistic approach calls upon everyone to get on board—healthcare providers, husbands, relatives, drivers, blood donors, among others.The multi-faceted approach it is employing includes arming the Ghanaian public with facts so that they can step up and play their part in saving the lives of mothers and babies; campaigning on a national level to donate blood for mothers and, and carry the message out all and sundry; as well as celebrate the unsung national heroes and heroines who are already fighting to save lives and across the country.Similarly, Mama Ye will also work to strengthen the relationship between communities and healthcare providers to help recognise gaps and act to improve the delivery of care to mothers and babies during childbirth. Additionally, it will gather data at community level on maternal and newborn deaths, as well as documenting what resources are currently available. It will also centrally locate data online to make it available to organisations and healthcare individuals fighting to improve conditions.It is noteworthy to point out that, true to its word, the Mama Ye campaign recently organised a blood donation campaign in Accra.Prior to the official outdooring of the campaign in Accra on February 26 this year, a website, a digital platform for the maternal and newborn health stakeholders for the purposes of education, empowerment and uniting of efforts, was launched on February 18. It features the latest in news, research and developments from Ghana. It is part of a continental campaign which will use digital and mobile phone technology to engage ordinary in the most important fight of all-the battle to save our mothers and babies.I urge all and sundry to lend their shoulders to the wheel and join the fight to save our mothers and newborns. Your unnoticed action somewhere can contribute to turning around those frightening maternal and infant mortality statistics in our favour as a country. This is a fight for a worthy cause; join it now!By Ebenezer T. Hanson
“Childbirth is not a disease. We have known for decades what it takes to ensure the survival of women and their babies in childbirth. But if our mothers are to survive, then the Ghanaian public must step up, and become more involved and vigilant."— Prof. Richard Adanu, Country Director for Mama Ye Ghana.