Oxfam in Ghana has held a five-day trainer of trainer's workshop on Emergency Obstetrics and Neonatal Care (EMONC) for midwives to enhance Ghana's maternal healthcare delivery. Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal care (EmONC) is a set of life-saving interventions used to address the major obstetric and newborn causes of morbidity and mortality. The workshop organised by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada together with their Ghanaian counterparts, the Society of Obstetricians and Gyneacologists of Ghana (SOGOG), seeks to update the midwives with current trends to help deliver babies safely without recording maternal deaths. The training for 27 midwives selected from eight districts across five regions was on the theme, 'Improving Maternal and Newborn Outcomes Through Improved EMONC Coverage in Ghana.' Mr Mahamoud Mohammed, Accountable Governance Programme Manager, Oxfam Ghana, said the workshop was crucial because a lot had changed and as such health professionals needed to be updated w ith the current trends. He said aside EMONC, other topics to be tackled include, sexes, pregnancy induced hypertension, all kinds of conditions associated with pregnancy and was hopeful that the five-day period would equip the midwives with basic skill to perform better. Dr Ali Samba, an Obstetrician Gynecologist and President SOGOG, said despite the progress made in maternal health, a lot more needed to be done hence the training. He said Ghana had increased antenatal coverage to 90 per cent and dropped its maternal mortality ratio to 263 per 100,000 live births but there was more room for improvement. Dr Samba said the EMONC training thus formed part of strategies to reduce maternal mortality in the country. He mentioned that the number of women on family planning had also increased to 36 per cent, lowering pregnancy and birth complications. Dr Samba called for the needed resources for continuous reduction in Ghana's maternal mortality ratio. Dr Laura Bourjolly, an Obstetrician in Canada and represen ting the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada, speaking on the importance of the training, said the collaboration would develop and integrate the various protocols and procedures. This would ensure that programmes that met the need of healthcare providers in Ghana were delivered, she added. Source: Ghana News Agency
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