KATH records first decline in maternal deaths in a decade

The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has recorded a significant decline in institutional maternal deaths, marking the first reduction in maternal mortality at the facility in about a decade.

The hospital recorded 55 maternal deaths between January and June 2026, compared with 78 during the same period in 2025. This represents a reduction of 23 deaths.

Management of the hospital has described the development as a major milestone in its ongoing efforts to improve maternal healthcare and save lives.

Speaking at the opening of KATH’s 2026 Mid-year Performance Review Conference in Kumasi, the Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, Dr Paa Kwesi Baidoo, said the decline was particularly significant given the facility’s long-standing challenges with maternal mortality.

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

Dr Baidoo attributed the improvement, in part, to the operationalisation of the hospital’s Maternal Intensive Care Unit, established with support from specialists in anaesthesia and intensive care.

The unit has a capacity of eight beds, although only four are currently operational. Dr Baidoo expressed optimism that activating all eight beds could contribute to a further reduction in maternal deaths.

He said the progress reflected the commitment of specialists at KATH to improving survival rates among women requiring critical maternal care.

“No woman should die,” Dr Baidoo stressed, noting that the latest figures represented the first decline in maternal mortality recorded by the hospital in approximately ten years.

Meanwhile, KATH has completed construction of an Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Centre, which is expected to become operational this month.

According to Dr Baidoo, the facility will make KATH the first public health institution in Ghana to operate a state-of-the-art specialist fertility centre.

The development forms part of KATH’s broader efforts to expand access to specialised healthcare services, strengthen critical care and improve treatment outcomes for patients.