Rural Maternal and Child Foundation inaugurated
Rural Maternal and Child Foundation (RUMACF), a new non-governmental organization (NGO), has formally been inaugurated at Dormaa Akwamu in the Dormaa East District.
The organization has the vision of educating and sensitizing people, especially women, in the rural communities on health issues aimed at eliminating or preventing maternal mortality and to ensure child survival.
RUMACF, as part of its mission, undertakes community based interventions and social development initiatives in its working communities which cover public health education, good sanitation campaigns, civic engagements on education improvement, protection of the environment and public interest advocacy mainly for women and children.
Inaugurating the Foundation, Ms Rachael Florence Appoh, Deputy Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection (GCSP), commended members for their efforts in supporting the fight against maternal mortality and advocate for child survival.
She said it was quite uncomfortable and challenging to see women suffer great danger to their health because they were pregnant or were going to give birth.
“Neglect by husbands, poor road infrastructure and transport, domestic violence, illiteracy and ignorance are some causes of maternal deaths.”
The Deputy Minister said although the challenges existed, new trends in maternal mortality estimates confirm the declination of the
number of women dying in pregnancy and childbirth.
Ms Appoh said Ghana was making progress in saving mothers’ lives through rapid progress in key strategic approach to the safe motherhood by deploying trained midwives and ensuring adequate essential supplies of drugs and equipment.
She said awareness creation on the importance of family planning, making family planning accessible, providing timely obstetric care
to women with complications and education on the importance of antenatal and postnatal care were areas progress had been made.
“The government has improved living standards among women through empowerment programmes and poverty alleviation and more interventions like the free maternal healthcare in the National Health Insurance Scheme have tackled maternal deaths and improved access to quality health facilities to ensure the attainment of MDG 3, 4 and 5,” she said.
The Deputy Minister was of the view that women could not be viewed in isolation when designing measures to support pregnant women in the development process.
She said maternal health issues were not just about women or for the benefit of women only, “but it involves changing gender relationships between women and men in order to prevent maternal deaths and child mortality.”
She congratulated the executive members of RUMACF for the intervention and urged them to stay committed to their mission for the betterment of Ghana.
Mr McAnthony Dagyenga, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of RUMACF, said; “No woman needed to die because she is pregnant”.
He said Ghana was about 538 days away from the deadline of achieving the MDG 5 in 2015 and that there was the need for RUMACF to come in to help the nation to attain the MDG target.
Mr Dagyenga said the doors of RUMACF were widely opened to welcome any partnering organizations to fight the course together.
Source: GNA