The Executive Director of Female Journalists for Women and Rural Development in Africa (FJ-WoRDA), Mrs. Shirley Asiedu-Addo, has urged the government to take urgent steps to improve the maternal mortality rate in the country.
This, she suggested, must be done through efficient strategies and commitments to improving access to quality healthcare facilities with adequate logistics and more competent and qualified personnel.
In a statement to commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day, Mrs. Asiedu-Addo noted: “As of now, the country’s maternal mortality rate stands at 310 per 100,000 live births, which is also impeding women’s growth.”
She expressed her dissatisfaction with the above scenario, saying: “Women dying while giving birth must be a worrying concern for us as a nation.”
She, therefore, urged the government and other able organisations to bring healthcare services closer to all women.
Concern over lack of vaccines
Mrs. Asiedu-Addo was completely disturbed by the recent shortage of baby vaccines across the country.
Mothers, she said, endured overwhelming psychological effects as they continued to go in and out of hospitals seeking to vaccinate their wards, but to no avail.
In view of this, the government, she said, must urgently address the shortage of polio and measles vaccines, which have become a major concern to many Ghanaians, so as to give mothers some peace of mind.
FJ- WoRDA congratulates Women
According to FJ-WoRDA, from the farmer to the koko seller, market women, journalists, and technicians, to the female corporate executives and politicians, women continued to make immense contributions to the development of the country.
Mrs. Asiedu-Addo, therefore, recognised that women’s efforts in every developing economy were crucial, and, therefore, congratulated Ghanaian women for their critical roles and immense contributions to Ghana’s development.
The use of appropriate technology
Mrs. Asiedu-Addo added that the aforementioned critical roles played by women could be drastically improved and its impact maximised through the use of appropriate technologies.
As a result, she described as commendable the many technology training fora by government agencies and non governmental organizations to help bridge the technological know-how for both genders.
In view of the above, she lauded the interventions by the government to support more girls into technical and vocational education as well as other areas that were previously a preserve for men.
These laudable efforts notwithstanding, she noted that women still had little access to innovative technologies and wondered whether the koko seller could gain some training and access to a technology that would enable her to access customers easily.
“Can the mother in the hinterland reach a health service provider faster using technology? …Women must be consciously supported with tools that enhance their jobs and roles”.She added.
Appreciation to men for their support
While she encouraged women to continue to impact society positively with their uniqueness and selflessly contribute to make their communities better, she also thanked men for their continuous support for women.
“On this year’s International Women’s Day, FJ-WoRDA commends women everywhere for their tremendous contribution to humanity and particularly for helping sustain the human race,” she stated.
