All around the world, pregnancy and childbirth symbolize hope, renewal and new beginnings.

This year’s World Health Day theme, ‘Healthy beginnings, Hopeful futures’,  is a clarion call to safeguard the health and well-being of women and babies to ensure they not only survive but also thrive.

Mothers and babies are being left behind

According to the World Health Organization (WHO),  a pregnant woman or newborn dies from preventable deaths every 7 seconds. Each year, about 300,000 women die from pregnancy or childbirth-related complications, with 95% of these deaths occurring in low and lower-middle-income countries as well as fragile contexts. At this rate, the world is not on track to meet the SDG targets for improving maternal health, and many countries will fail to meet targets for reducing newborn deaths.

In Ghana, despite progress made over the years to improve maternal health, the current maternal mortality rate of  263 per 100,000 is significantly higher than the SDG target of less than 70 per 100,000.

There are multiple underlying factors negatively impacting the health and well-being of mothers and babies. These include direct obstetric complications, mental health disorders, malnutrition (including undernutrition, overnutrition), non-communicable diseases and family planning.

As we mark this year’s World Health Day, urgent efforts are needed to re-prioritize the health and well-being of women and babies to ensure no one is left behind.

Empower women to be architects of their health and well-being.

Research shows that empowering women leads to better maternal and child health outcomes.  Educated women are more likely to know about their reproductive health, have better access to information and resources, and are better equipped to make informed decisions about their reproductive health. Conversely, women from low socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to experience complications during pregnancy and childbirth, including higher rates of maternal mortality and morbidity. Indeed, data from Ghana’s maternal health survey indicate that women with no education and from poor households are least likely to receive a postnatal check within two days of delivery.

Empowering women through education and viable economic opportunities is therefore necessary to improve maternal and child health. Deliberate and concerted efforts are required to not only put girls in school but also keep them in school. Furthermore, innovative schemes that promote financial and economic independence of women should be developed and made accessible especially to vulnerable populations. UNDP’s intervention to strengthen women-led MSMEs is one key intervention helping to promote the financial independence of women.

Harness the power of communities to challenge negative sociocultural norms

Communities play huge roles in shaping norms and behaviours. Early marriage, poor dietary practices, and taboos around pregnancy are some of the harmful socio-cultural norms that impact the well-being of women and babies as well as the uptake of essential maternal and child health services. Addressing these challenges requires a collective, whole-of-society or community-led approach. Maternal health interventions should thus harness the power of communities to shift these negative socio-cultural norms, empowering them to dispel myths, stigma and taboos surrounding pregnancy and maternal health.

Community and traditional leaders, including women leaders, should be equipped with the necessary knowledge and tools to actively challenge and dismantle negative socio-cultural norms that fuel early marriages and early childbearing. Furthermore, communities should normalize conversations around maternal mental health to create safe spaces for women to promptly seek and receive the needed help without fear or stigma.

Strengthen the health system to respond to the specific  needs of women 

In Ghana, studies indicate that human resource challenges and inadequate health care infrastructure, especially in underserved areas, negatively impact maternal health outcomes. Prioritizing the well-being of mothers and children would require deliberate and innovative efforts to improve the health care infrastructure, as well as incentivizing healthcare workers to take up postings in rural and underserved areas. Evidence from Ghana’s STEPS report suggests a higher prevalence of hypertension, raised blood glucose and obesity in women, all of which negatively impact their quality of life. 

Safeguarding the well-being of women requires strengthening health systems and implementing targeted interventions to reduce the high burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in women. Furthermore, innovative tools such as telehealth could be leveraged to enhance maternal mental health services. To truly prioritize women's health, health systems must focus on not just improving access but also enhancing the quality of services provided for women.

Healthy mothers are the foundation of healthy, thriving communities. Investing in the well-being of women yields powerful intergenerational benefits and lasting returns for society as a whole. 

This World Health Day, let us renew our commitment to protecting the health of mothers and babies, ensuring that no one is left behind.