Kumasi: Carlos Rosa Foundation screens thousands at Old Tafo
A nongovernmental organization, Carlos Rosa Foundation, has organized free screening and maternal mortality awareness at Tafo in the Old Tafo municipal in the Ashanti region.
The awareness program according to the NGO was to encourage pregnant women to regularly patronize health facilities to know the health conditions of themselves and the unborn babies.
This, the NGO noted will reduce maternal mortality rate in the municipal.
The program which was held on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at the Tafo Community Centre, was attended by pregnant and nonpregnant women from Tafo and its environs.
The Program Coordinator of Carlos Rosa Foundation Mr Kwame Brefo Kodua in an interview said the choosing of Tafo was based on reported cases of maternal mortality recorded recently.
“Carlos Rosa Foundation is aimed at promoting quality healthcare in Ghana, reducing maternal mortality is one of our prioritized areas so we are here to educate our women on the need to visit hospitals during their pregnancy stages,” he said.
“We have reports that expectant mothers don’t visit maternity homes in the municipal here, which is very worrying as it puts the women at risk. So we are also here to encourage visiting the homes for the good of themselves and the unborn children,” Mr Brefo Kodua added.
Mr Kwame Brefo Kodua addressing the women noted that prenatal care allows midwives and doctors to spot any problem like malaria, anemia and hypertension so that treatment can be administered to avert any danger.
He also advised them to ensure that their prescribed drugs are regularly taken to avoid babies with abnormalities, and always to heed to their midwives’ and doctors’ advice to end maternal mortality in the country.
The queen mother of Tafo Traditional Area Nana Obiyaa Atakora ll who chaired the program opined that some women lose their lives during and after delivery due to their inability to visit hospitals for maternal care for lack of money to pay their bills and other essentials.
She then advised them to prepare themselves financially before becoming pregnant in order to buy drugs and other essentials before, during and after pregnancy.
Nana Obiyaa Atakora ll asked girls to abstain from pre-marital sex to avoid teenage pregnancies, as such unhealthy acts could have negative impact on their future development and progress.
Some of the participants speaking to Otec News after the awareness were grateful to Carlos Rosa Foundation for the education and how helpful it will be in lives.
Some of the pregnant women attributed their inability to visit maternal homes to financial constraints, but promised to find ways necessary to do so for their safety and the unborn children.
Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com/Francis Appiah
