Sunyani Teaching Hospital hosted Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Health, Prof. Grace Ayensu-Danquah, on Monday, 21 September 2026, as part of a nationwide engagement drive on the Maternal Mortality Action and Response Programme (MMARP). The visit brought together hospital management and health stakeholders from across the Bono Region to discuss how MMARP’s clinical and operational priorities will be carried out locally.
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Deputy Health minister's engagement on MMARP
MMARP is the core clinical and operational pillar of the government’s five-year Presidential Initiative on Maternal Health Emergency Response (PRIMER), launched in Accra on 15 September 2026 by Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama, under the theme “No Woman Should Die While Giving Life.” PRIMER brings together government ministries, public institutions, traditional and religious leaders, civil society, the private sector, and communities around three pillars: political leadership and social mobilisation; institutionalised accountability and evidence-based action; and sustainable domestic financing and responsible external support.
The initiative responds to a persistent national challenge. Ghana’s maternal mortality ratio currently stands at approximately 234 deaths per 100,000 live births, with institutional maternal deaths reaching 965 in 2025. A significant share of these deaths follow referrals from lower-level facilities, often linked to delays in identifying high-risk pregnancies, gaps in emergency referral systems, and shortages of critical-care equipment and blood supplies — the gaps MMARP is designed to close through strengthened primary-level care, referral systems, and closer collaboration between health authorities, traditional leaders, and local communities. Government has set a target of reducing maternal deaths by 20 percent annually over the next three years.
Prof. Ayensu-Danquah is a board-certified general surgeon with fellowship training in trauma, burns, and reconstructive surgery, and the Member of Parliament for Essikado-Ketan. Beyond her parliamentary and ministerial roles, she founded the Healing Hands Organisation, which provides free surgical and medical care to underserved communities and donates equipment to rural health facilities.
Similar engagements are expected to continue across the country’s teaching hospitals as MMARP moves from its national launch into regional implementation, with Sunyani Teaching Hospital continuing its role as a key referral centre for maternal and newborn care in the Bono Region.