Midwives In Brong Ahafo Cry Out

Unless the Ministry of Health (MoH) comes to the aid of private midwives in the Brong-Ahafo Region, maternal death will hit the rooftop in a matter of time.

According to the president of the Brong-Ahafo regional branch of the Ghana Registered Midwives' Association, Augustina Ahiaku, not a single cedi has been paid for the claims they have submitted for the past nine months.

She explained that as a result of their predicament, companies which supply them with drugs have refused to supply them with the needed drugs, and as a result, pregnant women are sometimes asked to go home because drugs are not available to treat them.

Madam Ahiaku added that the most worrisome aspect of the situation is that many of the midwifery facilities are located in remote areas and so women who visit such facilities where drugs are not available to end up dying.

Speaking to DAILY GUIDE on the problems that are being faced by the midwives, Dorcas Fordwour, a known businesswoman in the region, revealed that the situation has become precarious that workers are being laid off in many facilities because operators can neither break even nor talk of making profit to pay utilities and salaries of workers.

She explained that the delay in the payment of claims was affecting their work, as they are forced to give out drugs on credit to patients or sometimes rely on banks for loans to pay for drugs.

Madam Dorcas seized the opportunity to appeal to the Minister for Gender, Children & Social Protection, Madam Otiko Afisa Djaba, to use her good office to impress upon the authorities to expedite action in order to avert the death of pregnant women who patronise these facilities in the Brong-Ahafo Region.