Maternal Mortality Decline in the Kassena-Nankana District of Northern Ghana

OBJECTIVE: In the absence of an adequate vital registration system in Ghana, the Navrongo demographic surveillance system (NDSS) established in 1993 presents a viable alternative to monitor, in a poor rural district, the UN Millennium Development Goal on maternal health (MDG) of reducing maternal mo...

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Main Authors: Mills, S., Williams, J. E., Wak, G., Hodgson, A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:EN
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5111
id okr-10986-5111
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-51112021-04-23T14:02:21Z Maternal Mortality Decline in the Kassena-Nankana District of Northern Ghana Mills, S. Williams, J. E. Wak, G. Hodgson, A. Adolescent Adult Cause of Death Child Female Ghana Health Status Indicators Humans Maternal Health Services Maternal Mortality Middle Aged Rural Population Socioeconomic Factors Young Adult OBJECTIVE: In the absence of an adequate vital registration system in Ghana, the Navrongo demographic surveillance system (NDSS) established in 1993 presents a viable alternative to monitor, in a poor rural district, the UN Millennium Development Goal on maternal health (MDG) of reducing maternal mortality by 75% between 1990 and 2015. METHODS: Of the 518 women aged 12-49 years identified in the NDSS database to have died in the Kassena-Nankana district in the period January 2002-December 2004, spouses or family members completed verbal autopsy interviews for 516 female deaths. RESULT: Of the 516 female deaths, 45 were identified as maternal deaths. 71% of the maternal deaths were attributed to direct maternal causes while 29% were due to indirect maternal causes. Abortion-related deaths were the most frequent cause of maternal deaths. The maternal mortality ratio for the period 2002-2004 was 373 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births indicating a 40% reduction of maternal mortality from the 1995-1996 level of 637 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. However, the health-facility based maternal mortality ratio in the district (which excludes maternal deaths outside health facilities) was 141 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births for the period 2002-2004. CONCLUSION: This district may be on track to achieve the MDG on maternal health. Ultimately, strengthening vital registration systems to provide timely information to policymakers should supersede the other methods of measuring maternal mortality. 2012-03-30T07:31:20Z 2012-03-30T07:31:20Z 2008 Journal Article Matern Child Health J 1092-7875 (Print) 1092-7875 (Linking) http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5111 EN http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Journal Article Ghana
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language EN
topic Adolescent
Adult
Cause of Death
Child
Female
Ghana
Health Status Indicators
Humans
Maternal Health Services
Maternal Mortality
Middle Aged
Rural Population
Socioeconomic Factors
Young Adult
spellingShingle Adolescent
Adult
Cause of Death
Child
Female
Ghana
Health Status Indicators
Humans
Maternal Health Services
Maternal Mortality
Middle Aged
Rural Population
Socioeconomic Factors
Young Adult
Mills, S.
Williams, J. E.
Wak, G.
Hodgson, A.
Maternal Mortality Decline in the Kassena-Nankana District of Northern Ghana
geographic_facet Ghana
relation http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo
description OBJECTIVE: In the absence of an adequate vital registration system in Ghana, the Navrongo demographic surveillance system (NDSS) established in 1993 presents a viable alternative to monitor, in a poor rural district, the UN Millennium Development Goal on maternal health (MDG) of reducing maternal mortality by 75% between 1990 and 2015. METHODS: Of the 518 women aged 12-49 years identified in the NDSS database to have died in the Kassena-Nankana district in the period January 2002-December 2004, spouses or family members completed verbal autopsy interviews for 516 female deaths. RESULT: Of the 516 female deaths, 45 were identified as maternal deaths. 71% of the maternal deaths were attributed to direct maternal causes while 29% were due to indirect maternal causes. Abortion-related deaths were the most frequent cause of maternal deaths. The maternal mortality ratio for the period 2002-2004 was 373 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births indicating a 40% reduction of maternal mortality from the 1995-1996 level of 637 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. However, the health-facility based maternal mortality ratio in the district (which excludes maternal deaths outside health facilities) was 141 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births for the period 2002-2004. CONCLUSION: This district may be on track to achieve the MDG on maternal health. Ultimately, strengthening vital registration systems to provide timely information to policymakers should supersede the other methods of measuring maternal mortality.
format Journal Article
author Mills, S.
Williams, J. E.
Wak, G.
Hodgson, A.
author_facet Mills, S.
Williams, J. E.
Wak, G.
Hodgson, A.
author_sort Mills, S.
title Maternal Mortality Decline in the Kassena-Nankana District of Northern Ghana
title_short Maternal Mortality Decline in the Kassena-Nankana District of Northern Ghana
title_full Maternal Mortality Decline in the Kassena-Nankana District of Northern Ghana
title_fullStr Maternal Mortality Decline in the Kassena-Nankana District of Northern Ghana
title_full_unstemmed Maternal Mortality Decline in the Kassena-Nankana District of Northern Ghana
title_sort maternal mortality decline in the kassena-nankana district of northern ghana
publishDate 2012
url http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5111
_version_ 1764393988475846656