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“The President of the Ghana Registered Midwives Association (GRMA), Mrs. Netta Forson Ackon, has called for immediate improvements in the working conditions of midwives across the country. She emphasized that better facilities, fair compensation, and reduced workloads are essential to enable midwives to deliver efficient, high-quality maternal healthcare services.”
Mrs. Ackon emphasized that midwives not only serve as critical healthcare providers but also endure significant psychological distress in their line of duty, particularly when working in high-risk conflict areas. She highlighted the urgent need for mental health support systems to accompany improvements in physical working conditions.
Speaking with authority, the GRMA President emphasized, ‘As primary custodians of Ghana’s future generations, we persistently call upon healthcare employers to honor the collective bargaining agreement and substantially improve working conditions. These critical measures will enhance midwifery motivation and ultimately elevate maternal healthcare standards nationwide.
Mrs. Netta Forson Ackon delivered this urgent appeal during Monday’s dual ceremony where the GRMA both launched its annual durbar and honored 23 exemplary midwives – a strategic event timed to commemorate the approaching International Day of Midwives (May 5).
Organised by the GRMA, the IDM is held on May 5, every year to recognise the vital contributions of midwives in healthcare delivery and emphasise the improvements still required to ensure that all women in Ghana have access to a qualified midwife (skilled attendant) at all times.
Aligned with this year’s International Day of Midwives theme – ‘Midwives: Critical in Every Crisis’ – the event will highlight midwives’ indispensable role in ensuring timely, quality maternal and neonatal healthcare throughout the entire pregnancy journey. The celebration recognizes their tireless efforts to safeguard mothers and newborns before, during, and after childbirth, particularly in emergency situations.
Mrs. Ackon revealed that midwives operating in Bawku’s conflict zone endure severe psychological distress, often risking their safety to perform emergency deliveries during curfew hours. She emphasized these traumatic working conditions require immediate mental health support and security provisions for frontline birth attendants.
Mrs. Ackon disclosed that midwives in conflict zones frequently endanger their own lives, making perilous journeys during active fighting to transport high-risk mothers to advanced care facilities. ‘They navigate checkpoints and gunfire just to access basic emergency obstetric support,’ she revealed.
President Ackon hailed conflict-zone midwives as ‘beacons of hope’ – steadfast caregivers who deliver quality maternal health services against all odds. ‘While others flee, our midwives advance toward danger, ensuring displaced and refugee mothers receive dignified care despite resource constraints and security threats,’ she proclaimed
Dr. Mrs. Caroline Reindorf Amissah, Deputy Director of the Ghana Health Service, paid tribute to midwives’ unwavering commitment to maternal and child health, stating: ‘Your extraordinary service in our most challenging environments – from conflict zones to under-resourced clinics – embodies the highest ideals of healthcare professionalism.
Midwives are the backbone of maternal and child health services. In Ghana, you provide essential service to the pregnant woman, the newborn and families,” she added.
The Western Regional Minister, Joseph Nelson, noted the commitment and crucial role midwives played in health delivery particularly maternal mortality in the region, adding that, they remained resolute despite the community in which they resided.
Nana Kobina Nketsia V, Omanhene of Essikado, bestowed royal praise upon the midwives: ‘Your extraordinary humility matches only the magnitude of your life-saving service. As custodians of our most vulnerable, you embody the sacred title of ‘saviours’ – our communities stand indebted to your noble calling.
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