The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has sounded the alarm over Ghana’s deteriorating maternal health situation, disclosing that approximately 900 women have died from pregnancy- and childbirth-related complications in 2025 alone.
The revelation was made by the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Madam Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, during a high-level stakeholder engagement in Accra.
She described the figures as deeply troubling, noting that maternal deaths remain unacceptably high despite sustained investments in maternal healthcare over the years.
Madam Lartey revealed that Ghana’s maternal mortality ratio has shown only modest improvement in the past decade, declining from 316 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2010 to 301 in 2020.
At the current rate of progress, she warned, the country risks missing the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of reducing maternal mortality to 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.
Data from the Ghana Health Service further suggests that progress has stalled, with maternal deaths increasing slightly from 100 per 100,000 live births in 2023 to 102 in 2024, raising concerns that recent interventions are failing to deliver sustained results.
Speaking at the Presidential Maternal Health Dialogue in Accra, the Minister noted that many of the deaths are preventable but persist due to systemic challenges, including weak health infrastructure, delays in antenatal care, inadequate emergency transport and referral systems, and socio-cultural barriers that discourage timely care-seeking, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach communities.
The Deputy Chief of Staff at the Office of the President, Mr Oye Bampo, confirmed that nearly 900 maternal deaths had been recorded nationwide as of November 2025, cautioning that the number could exceed 1,000 by the end of the year without urgent intervention.
On behalf of the Health Minister, Dr Hafez Adam Taher, Director of Technical Coordination and Health Planning at the Ministry of Health, acknowledged that Ghana is off track in meeting maternal mortality targets under the Universal Health Coverage roadmap.
He attributed the setbacks to persistent gaps in emergency transport services, blood availability and transfusion systems, weak supply chains for essential maternal health commodities, and inconsistent implementation of maternal and newborn death surveillance systems.
Beyond the health implications, Madam Lartey described maternal mortality as a national development and human rights crisis, revealing that even her ministry had recorded a maternal death among the nearly 900 cases this year.
To reverse the trend, government plans include intensifying interventions such as the uncapping of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and expanding social protection programmes under the Mahama Cares Initiative to reduce financial and logistical barriers to emergency maternal care.
Calling for a whole-of-society response, the Minister urged traditional and religious leaders, families, local authorities, civil society organisations, the media and the private sector to share responsibility in safeguarding women’s lives.
“Saving women’s lives is not charity; it is justice,” she stressed, warning that without swift and coordinated action, childbirth will continue to claim the lives of Ghanaian women.
