The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has recorded a significant decline in institutional maternal deaths.

This development marks the first time in a decade that the facility has recorded such an achievement.

Between January and June 2026, the hospital recorded 55 maternal deaths, compared to 78 in the same period last year. This information was made known by the Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, Dr Paa Kwesi Baidoo while Speaking at the opening of KATH’s 2026 Mid-year Performance Review Conference in Kumasi.

According to him, “We recorded a welcome reduction in institutional maternal deaths from 78 at mid-year 2025 to 55 in the corresponding period in 2026”.

Speaking during the Maternal Mortality Action and Response Programme tour in Accra on Thursday, August 6, the Deputy Health Minister disclosed startling findings, calling for urgent measures to address the menace.

According to her, Ghana recorded 986 maternal deaths in 2024, adding that, the country’s maternal mortality ratio remains at 235 deaths per 100,000 live births. She added, “In 2024, 986 pregnant women died”.

This revelation comes after United Nations (UN) programmes have contributed to efforts to tackle poverty, improve living standards, and reduce maternal mortality in Ghana.

This is as contained in the UN's Ghana 2025 Annual Results Report, which was launched in Accra on Tuesday, June 16.

According to the international organisation’s Country Team in Ghana, it increased its programme delivery rate from 64% in 2024 to 80% in 2025, investing $113.3 million through 34 UN agencies to support a wide range of development initiatives across the country.

Consequently, these interventions contributed to a decline in maternal mortality, with deaths falling from 310 to 234 per 100,000 live births, a reduction of 76 deaths, representing a 24.5% decline during the period.

However, despite the UN’s intervention, Ghana’s Gender Ministry last year indicated that 900 mothers lost their lives. Speaking about the situation, the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, noted that Ghana’s maternal mortality ratio has seen only marginal improvement over the past decade, declining from 316 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2010 to 301 in 2020, marking just 16 deaths in decline in a decade

She warned that the slow pace of improvement risks Ghana’s chances of missing the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of reducing maternal mortality to 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.

Statistics

Ghana’s cases in the last few years have been fluctuating; however, reports indicate that these deaths have consistently been linked to obstetric haemorrhage (severe bleeding) and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, eclampsia), with delays in care and weak health systems compounding the problem.

In 2010, Ghana saw 316 deaths per 100,000 live births, caused by haemorrhage and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. By 2020, Ghana recorded a decline of 15 deaths per 100,000 live births, but systemic issues such as weak referral systems, poor emergency transport, and shortages of skilled birth attendants continued to drive fatalities.

A sharp improvement was reported in 2023, when the Ghana Health Service (GHS) documented 100 deaths per 100,000 live births. This was attributed to expanded antenatal coverage, improved emergency obstetric care, and stronger community health services. However, in 2024, the ratio rose slightly to 102 deaths per 100,000 live births, showing that progress was fragile and easily reversed by gaps in blood supply chains, delayed care, and socio-cultural barriers that kept many women from seeking timely hospital delivery.