Government urged to improve infrastructure at midwifery institutions
The Ghana Registered Midwives Association (GRMA) has appealed to the government to improve infrastructure in midwifery training schools to admit more students.
This is to augment the shortfall in midwifery personnel as well as enhance the country’s chances of attaining the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) on maternal and child mortality.
Mrs Joyce Jetuah, the President of GRMA, made the appeal on Wednesday in an interview with the Ghana News Agency during the closing of the Eighth Biennial General Meeting of the Association at Winneba.
The three-day event, which was on the theme: “Ghana Needs More Dedicated Midwives Now than Ever,” was to enable members to take stock of activities for the past two years and plan for the future.
Mrs Jetuah, who is also Proprietor of Godfred Memorial Maternity Home at Gomoa Ankamu, said the inadequate infrastructure in midwifery training schools was limiting the expansion of enrolment of students, the result of which was the shortfall of midwives in health care institutions.
She said the country had about 3,780 midwives, including nurse-midwives, adding that most of them were between 40 and 60 years.
Mrs Jetuah noted that because of lack of logistics and recreational facilities, they did not want to work in remote areas thereby denying pregnant women in those areas of essential services.
She therefore called on the government to provide incentives and logistics to enable midwives to deliver their services, especially to difficult-to-reach communities or remote areas, to ensure the attainment of the MDG.
Mrs Jetuah said there was the need for regular training of practicing midwives to update their knowledge on new concepts and practices to enable them to deliver improved services.
She therefore appealed to corporate bodies and individuals to assist GRMA in terms of funds, equipment and relevant literature, among others, to help keep members in tune with current developments in the profession.
Mrs Jetuah also appealed to District Assemblies to set up a permanent scholarship scheme to sponsor two Senior High School graduates to midwifery training schools and bond them to serve the community for a period.
While congratulating members for their contribution towards the reduction in the incidence of maternal death, she urged them to do more to ensure the attainment of the MDG.
She said the GRMA’s Council had set up a committee to work with Principals of the midwifery training schools to develop criteria to select the best student for an annual GRMA awards as a way of engendering competition amongst midwifery students.
Source: GNA