Professor Veronica Millicent Dzomeku, Professor Emmanuel Nakua, and Dr. Adwoa Boamah Mensah from the Department of Nursing, and School of Public Health organized a three-day workshop for midwives from the Bono Region of Ghana on the reduction of maternal and child mortality using cost-effective technology at the KNUST Career Development Center. The workshop which commenced on the 8th of November 2021, was aimed at refreshing the nurses/midwives on Whatsapp communication, danger signs identification, and referral. The project aims at equipping nurses and midwives in identifying causes of maternal mortality in the study area around the three delays that cause maternal mortality. Delay in decision making to refer, delay in transportation, and delay in receiving care in the referred facility. The project is taking advantage of the Whatsapp platform to reduce the delays along the care continuum such that patients receive care within 30 minutes of arrival in the referral center.

The study is been conducted at  Sene East and Sene West District of the Bono Region of Ghana. An initial need assessment was conducted on the familiarity of Whatsapp, danger signs, and identification systems in maternal mortality.

The three-day workshop hosted 40 midwives, the Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Sene West District Health Director, and Sene East District Health Director who are very supportive of the project.

Dr. Anthony  Adofo Ofosu, the Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, pronounced that this project is regarded as one of the interventions to improve the health service gaps especially in the areas of maternal and child health. He also assured that the outcomes of this project will inform decisions for improving maternal and child health care in other geographic areas. He also applauded the initiatives of the workshop where academia meets with major stakeholders in the health sector to address a critical need through research.