Ghana has set a target of reducing maternal deaths by 20 percent annually as part of renewed efforts to improve maternal healthcare and prevent avoidable deaths among pregnant women and mothers, Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has announced. He said the target reflects the government’s commitment to strengthening maternal health services and ensuring that women receive timely, quality and effective medical care throughout pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period.
Akandoh announced the target while addressing global health leaders at the World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany, where he outlined Ghana’s ongoing efforts to improve maternal health outcomes through targeted government interventions. He explained that the government’s determination to reduce maternal mortality led to the introduction of the Presidential Initiative on Maternal Health Emergency Response (PRIMER), which seeks to enhance the country’s capacity to respond to maternal health emergencies.
The Health Minister emphasised that reducing maternal deaths requires more than adequate funding, highlighting the need for strong political leadership, effective healthcare systems and accountability to achieve measurable improvements.
“We recognise that financing alone will not save mothers. It takes political leadership, it takes functioning health systems and it takes accountability for results. That is why under President John Dramani, we have launched the Presidential Initiative on Maternal Health Emergency Response. Our ambition is clear: to reduce maternal deaths by 20 percent annually,” he stated.
The Presidential Initiative on Maternal Health Emergency Response was officially launched on September 16, 2026, by Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang. The initiative is expected to strengthen Ghana’s response to medical emergencies involving pregnant women and mothers while supporting broader efforts to improve maternal healthcare and reduce preventable maternal deaths across the country.
