Dua (U/E), Dec 20, – The
Christian Mothers Associations of the Catholic Church in the Bongo District of
the Upper East Region has pledged to collaborate effectively with the Ghana
Health Service (GHS) to promote exclusive breastfeeding.
It said efforts of the GHS to
promote and encourage all pregnant women in the district to access antenatal
and postnatal services at health facilities was a move in the right direction
and pledged their support to complement the move.
Mrs Alice Abongo, a leading
member, made the pledge on behalf of the Association at a Community Durbar
organised by the Integrated Youth Needs and Welfare (INTYON), a
Non-Governmental Organisation, at Dua in the Bongo District.
She said the campaign would help
reduce the number of maternal and neonatal deaths in the district.
The durbar, which was funded by
UNICEF under the Mother Baby Friendly Health Facility (MBHI) Project, attracted
Chiefs, Assemblymen and women, Women Groups of the Ghana Red Cross, and women
groups from the community.
The two-year project is being
piloted in three countries namely Ghana, Bangladesh and Tanzania to promote
exclusive breast feeding and encourage pregnant women and lactating mothers to
access regular antenatal and postnatal care to help reduce infant and neonatal
deaths.
Mr Bentin Cabral, the Focal
Person of the MBHI project, said through effective partnership with
organisations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and UNICEF, the
project was being implemented in the Kassena-Nankana West, Bongo, Bawku and the
Bolgatanga Municipalities of the Upper East Region.
“The two-year project has
interventions including advocacy and focus group discussions to ensure increase
demand for ante-natal and post-natal services, early initiation to breast
feeding within 30 minutes after birth, exclusive breastfeeding and promoting
basic new-born care”, he added.
He said the INTYON had organised
sensitization programmes using community mobilization, focus group discussions,
drama, advocacy programmes for traditional rulers, religious leaders, pregnant
women, mothers of newborn babies, husbands and community leaders to help
achieve the National Newborn Strategy and the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs).
Mr Issah Ibrahim, the Chief
Executive Officer of INTYON, charged all stakeholders particularly men to
accompany their wives during pregnancy and at delivery to the health facilities
to access health care services.
He appealed to the government and
the Assembly to expand the Gulkprgu-Dung-Yelpalsinaa Health Centre, to enable
it to accommodate the increasing number of women who visited the facility for
health services.
GNA
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