Ghana has renewed its commitment to tackling maternal mortality, with the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Hon. Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, urging coordinated national action to save women’s lives.
Dr. Lartey was speaking at a high-level Maternal Mortality Roundtable convened by the Office of the President through the SDGs Advisory Unit, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC). The event, held under the theme “No Woman Should Lose Her Life to Give a Life: Presidential Initiative to Accelerate Reduction in Maternal Mortality in Ghana,” brought together government officials, development partners, health experts, civil society actors, and religious and traditional leaders.
Addressing participants, the Minister stressed that maternal health must be viewed not only as a medical issue but also as a matter of equity, accountability, and justice. She called for strengthened community-level accountability mechanisms to ensure maternal deaths are investigated, learned from, and prevented, rather than normalized or hidden.
“History will not judge us by the speeches we deliver today, but by the lives we save through the path we take,” Dr. Lartey declared, urging stakeholders to leave the roundtable with clear commitments, defined responsibilities, timelines, and accountability frameworks.
She emphasized that maternal health is a shared moral obligation that transcends ministries and institutions, involving political leadership, religious and traditional authorities, and communities. “When women survive, children are born, families thrive, communities prosper, and nations grow,” she said, adding that saving women’s lives is not charity but justice and a reflection of Ghana’s values.
The roundtable concluded with renewed pledges to accelerate Ghana’s efforts toward reducing preventable maternal deaths, aligning with the country’s broader Sustainable Development Goals agenda.
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