Public Agenda (Accra)
Ebenezer Hanson
13 August 2007
Despite the general improvement in the human development indicators over the years, maternal and child mortality rates remain an uphill challenge for the country, as President John Agyekum Kufour has admitted.
Regardless of these setbacks, he is optimistic that Ghana is on track towards the attainment of most of the Millennium Development Goals, as well as becoming a middle-income country by 2015.
"Generally the human development indicators are improving, and Ghana is on course to achieving the universal primary education target. Child and maternal rates remain a challenge. This notwithstanding, we are optimistic that Ghana is on track not only to achieving most of the MDGs targets, but also to becoming a middle income country by 2015."
The occasion was the Bank of Ghana's Golden Jubilee Anniversary international symposium held in Accra last week. It was under the theme "Central Banking and the Millennium Development Goals" and attracted financial experts and economists across the world.
While the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) has targeted a maternal mortality rate of 54 births per 100,000 live births by 2015, available statistics put the country's maternal mortality rate at an average of 210 per 100, 000 live births.
For instance according to UNICEF: At a glance: Ghana Statistics, between 1990-2005 the maternal mortality averaged at 210 per 100,000 live births.
Dr. Mrs. Henrietta Odoi-Agyarko, Deputy Director of Public Health in charge of Family Health, Ghana Health Service, was reported in the media as saying that " maternal mortality declined from 280 per 100,000 live births in 1993 to 250 per 100,000 births in 2003. The target, however, is 150 per 100,000 by 2006 ".
The World Bank Group's, Ghana Data Profile, reveals that from 2000-2005 infant mortality rate has remain fixed at an average of 68 per 1000 live births while those under age of five has also remain static at 112 per 1000 live births.
In 2005, Mrs. Gloria Alarbi, National Co-ordinator of Breastfeeding Promotion Committee, was reported as having stated that the latest report of the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS), showed that the under-five mortality rate had gone up compared to the last ten years of the promotion of the breast-feeding policy.
According to her, the World Health Organization's (WHO) Demographic Health Survey (DHS), on Ghana showed that exclusive breast-feeding for six months had the advantage to reduce under five mortality in children by thirteen per cent.
According to the 2003 report on Ghana's infant and child mortality (under-five), 177 children in every 1000 live births died before five years while 84 died before one year, indicating a slowing down in the mortality rate compared to previous reports.
Mrs. Alarbi said studies showed that for babies born to HIV-infected mothers, the use of niverapine drug combined with baby formulas to prevent mother-to-child transmission could reduce child mortality to only two per cent of under-five mortality and morbidity while the use of insecticide-treated bed nets could reduce it by six per cent.
Mrs. Alarbi said statistics showed that the infant mortality rate, which occurred in children under-one, was also soaring because of the practice of mixed feeding with baby formulas.
Reduction in maternal and child mortality are among the eight MDGs. Meanwhile in 2005 the then Director General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Prof. George Gyan Baffour said Ghana is likely not to achieve all of its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the year 2015.
He said the attainment of the MDGs would depend on effective integration of the goals into the national development agenda as well as a very constructive relationship with development partners.
Prof. Gyan Baffour said these at the launch of the Millennium Project Report in Accra last Tuesday. He also said Ghana was gradually integrating the MDGs into her national development agenda with some of the goals making significant improvements.
"The on-going revision of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) for the 2006 to 2009 period, which is due in June, is a major avenue for ensuring effective integration of the MDGs into the national agenda," he said.
Giving an overview of the progress made so far by Ghana on the MDGs, he explained that in the case of the first goal, that is halving poverty and hunger by the year 2015, the proportion of children underweight was 27 percent in 1992. This declined to 25 percent in 1999 and 23.3 percent in 2003.
"Using a linear projection of the 2015, value, the prevalence of underweight children will be 21 as against a target of 14," adding," this clearly indicates that the country may not be able to reach this target."
On the second goal that is, achieving universal education, Prof. Gyan Baffour explained that the net primary school enrolment was 58 percent in 1999 and 69 percent in 2003.
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