Let’s ensure a healthy Ghana!
Ghana joined the global community to commemorate World Health Day on Monday, April 7, 2025, marking the birth of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1948.
World Health Day aims to raise awareness about specific health issues and promote actions to address them.
Each year, WHO selects a topic to highlight a pressing global health challenge, and this year’s theme was “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures,” focusing on maternal and newborn health.
The health of mothers and newborns remains a significant global challenge as many countries continue to lag behind the WHO’s target for 2030.
WHO’s target is, therefore, to reduce maternal deaths to 70 per 100,000 live births and eliminate preventable deaths of newborns and children under five, particularly reducing neonatal mortality to at least 12 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Despite progress in reducing maternal and newborn deaths, Ghana still faces significant challenges in achieving these targets.
Currently, Ghana’s maternal mortality ratio stands at 263 per 100,000 live births—far above the WHO target of 70.
This stark figure highlights the urgent need for accelerated efforts to meet the WHO’s 2030 target.
It is for this reason that The Ghanaian Times deems it important, the call by WHO’s country representative, Dr Frank Lule, for the government to focus on intervention that would improve the health of women and children, at commemoration of this year’s World Health Day, at the University of Ghana, Legon.
His advocacy underscores the importance of government involvement in achieving health targets, and the urgency of addressing maternal and child health issues.
Indeed, we must take our destiny into our own hands by sustaining the country’s key health interventions, in the midst cut back on donor support.
Similarly, The Ghanaian Times considers it refreshing the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Professor Samuel Kaba Akoriyea’s assurance to the public of the government’s commitment to strengthen health promotion, preventive services, rehabilitation, and pathology to improve public health outcomes.
However, his assurances are a step in the right direction, but they require concerted efforts from all stakeholders to create a comprehensive health system that prioritises maternal and child health.
To meet the WHO targets, Ghana must invest in critical areas such as antenatal care, skilled birth attendants (especially midwives), newborn care, and access to family planning services.
It is also crucial to improve the hospital environment to make it more welcoming and respectful for mothers.
A strong health system that prioritises maternal and child health will contribute to better health outcomes and a hopeful future for the nation’s children.
The Ghanaian Times strongly believes that addressing maternal and newborn health is a call to action, and all stakeholders— government, NGOs, and communities—must work together to create a health system that supports women and children, ensuring a healthier future for Ghana.
As we celebrate this auspicious occasion, let us also reflect on the famous Roman Poet Virgil’s adage that “The greatest wealth is health”, by intensifying efforts toward achieving Universal Health Coverage , to create a healthy environment, for enhanced productivity, wealthy and prosperous country.
Of course, our physical, and mental well-being are arguably most valuable assets of the country. The Ministry of Health and its agencies must step up efforts to ensure we achieve Universal Health Coverage by 2030.
