MedShare Clean Birthing Kits (CBKs) Make Significant Impact on Maternal Health Outcomes in Rural Ghana

Partnership with The Samira Empowerment & Humanitarian Projects (SEHP) has helped dramatically reduce maternal mortality rates across the region

MedShare continues to extend our global impact by once again partnering with The Samira Empowerment & Humanitarian Projects (SEHP) to help improve the lives of women, children and youth in under-served communities across Ghana. To date, MedShare has provided SEHP with thousands of Clean Birthing Kits to support SEHP’s Safe Delivery Project in the Saboba, Zabzugu, and Tatale districts. Each kit contains essential supplies necessary to help ensure mothers in the region have a safe birth environment, dramatically reducing the risk of life-threatening infections.

SEHP was founded and managed by Hajia Mrs. Samira Bawumia, the Second Lady of Ghana, to support underprivileged and underserved persons and communities in Ghana. The project is aimed at reducing maternal and neonatal mortality rates in underserved communities through strengthened healthcare delivery systems and improved health care outcomes.

“Since the inception of this project, we are proud to report that these regions have achieved zero maternal and neonatal deaths,” explained Emmanuel Kwame Twum Asiamah, Esq., SEHP Project Coordinator. “The provision of clean birth kits has been an essential part of this success, ensuring safer deliveries and drastically reducing the risk of complications for both mothers and newborns.”

While childbirth can be joyful, for many women in rural areas it carries the risk of tragedy due to limited access to proper healthcare. Postpartum hemorrhage, sepsis, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and obstructed labor are all too common in hard-to-reach communities like the East Gonja, North East and Saboba district, with expectant mothers experiencing complications that could have been prevented with the most basic essential items.

Prioritizing a mother’s health should be non-negotiable as she carries the hope and anticipation of bringing a newborn into the world. In response to this urgent need, the Samira Empowerment & Humanitarian Projects launched the Safe Delivery Project (SDP), a community-based maternal health intervention that addresses the most pressing challenges women face during pregnancy and childbirth. Anchored on a three-pronged approach of Advocacy, Training and Distribution of Clean Birthing Kits, SDP is contributing to improved maternal and neonatal health in underserved communities.

SEHP works closely with the Ghana Health Service to educate and inform expectant mothers on the need to visit the health facilities for Antenatal care at the onset of pregnancy while empowering local health actors to support safe pregnancies from the earliest stages. This is complemented with the distribution of Clean Birthing Kits; nearly 9,000 expectant mothers have received these kits since the launch of the program.

The impact of the Safe Delivery Project in Saboba has been profound; Antenatal Care (ANC) and Postnatal Care (PNC) Attendance has increased on a 79% percentile average. This surge reflects the community’s growing trust in healthcare services and the effectiveness of SEHP outreach programs. Most notably, the district has achieved a zero institutional maternal and neonatal mortality rate since the implementation of the project. Behind each of these numbers is a life saved and a child welcomed into a world with their mother by their side.

Thanks to SEHP’s Safe Delivery Project, what had been a tragic narrative is being rewritten—one safe delivery at a time.