The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has called for urgent presidential intervention to address Ghana's maternal health crisis, revealing that one woman dies every three hours in the country, amounting to eight deaths daily.

Speaking in Accra on Monday, 14th September, at the national launch of the Presidential Initiative on maternal health emergency response, the Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Dr Sennen Hounton, described the situation as a crisis that goes largely unnoticed.

"When I was having a briefing before here, I heard that every single day, every three hours, we have one. Eight per day, that's a lot. So if, imagine, it's because it goes silently," he said.

"Imagine that you have a road accident and every day you have eight people die. I'm sure there will be an outcry. Or let's say that it is a meningitis or something, and all of the sudden, you will see the whole apparatus rushing to put that fire down."

Dr Hounton explained that the multisectoral nature of the problem, spanning roads, electricity, and human resources, meant the Ministry of Health alone could not resolve it.

"Having a good road to make sure that the woman reaches quickly on time a facility when she's bleeding, Ministry of Health does not construct road. When you get to the operating theater, having electricity 24/7... many facility in this region, in some remote part, they don't have electricity."

He added: "So you see, there are many things outside of the Ministry of Health that needs to make sure that they check those buses."

This, he argued, is why a presidential initiative carries unique convening power.

"You need someone with a convening power beyond the Ministry of Health to bring other ministries. That depends on each country. It may be the Prime Minister, but in this case, the highest office of the land said, let me take this and deal with it. And we must commend them for that."

Dr Hounton stressed that the initiative is government-led, not donor-driven.

"This is not an initiative by UNFPA. This is an initiative by your own government and His Excellency, the President. We made advocacy to elevate the issue at that level."

He noted that similar initiatives have been launched in Guinea-Bissau and Benin, with The Gambia, Guinea Conakry, and others in the pipeline.

"We believe that raising the issue to that level of political engagement, a national emergency, because it's a crisis. We don't often talk about that way. But this is really a crisis. There is no week that you don't hear about a woman losing her life."