Rita ENC Story
Breathing Life: How One Initiative is Changing Newborn Care in Ghana’s Ashanti Region
In the heart of Ghana’s Ashanti Region, a quiet revolution has been unfolding—one that is saving the tiniest of lives and empowering the hands that deliver them. At the centre of this transformation stands Women’s Health To Wealth (WHW), an organisation with a deep-rooted commitment to maternal and newborn care.
For decades, WHW has been a vital support in the region. Their legacy includes establishing two neonatal units through a partnership with the Millennium Cities Initiative. However, despite these milestones, the fight against newborn mortality and morbidity remains challenging. Progress has often been limited to large district hospitals, regional, and tertiary hospitals, while smaller, sub-district facilities have remained under-equipped and undertrained.
Dr. Rita Fosu Yeboah, the Newborn Focal Person for the Ashanti Region, recognised the urgency of this gap. With support from WHW, she spearheaded a bold initiative to extend care where it was needed most: to the overlooked corners of the region.
Nine districts were chosen—Amansie West, Atwima Mponua, Sekyere Kumawu, Adansi Akrofoum, Sekyere Central, Afigya Kwabre South, Ejura-Sekyedumase, Ahafo-Ano South West, and Sekyere Afram Plains. Across these districts, 107 health facilities—including hospitals, polyclinics, health centres, and CHPS compounds—became part of the mission.
The strategy was twofold: train and equip. WHW rolled out a training curriculum that targeted the three leading causes of neonatal deaths—birth asphyxia, prematurity and its complications, and infections. More than a thousand midwives and nurses—1,025 to be exact—were trained in Essential Newborn Care (Levels I & II) and Infection Prevention and Control (IPC). Among them were 362 staff from the region’s only teaching hospital, ensuring that even the most advanced care facilities benefited from the intervention.
But the story didn’t end with the training sessions. WHW believed that knowledge must be nurtured to take root. So, they followed up. Thirty-three health facilities were visited multiple times—at six weeks, six months, and one year—to ensure the newly learned skills were not forgotten. The result? An impressive 80% to 100% retention rate.
To keep the momentum alive, each district chose a “facility champion”—a leader responsible for ongoing drills and refreshers. Every district received neonatal mannequins and training materials, while every facility was equipped with essential newborn equipment and materials: ventilation bags and masks, penguin suction devices, and action plans.
And there was another unexpected gift. Through this initiative, eight new regional trainers in Essential Newborn Care were developed, strengthening the region’s capacity for sustainable growth.
Today, thanks to the tireless work of WHW, newborns in Ashanti’s remotest communities now have a fighting chance. Their first breath is no longer a gamble. It’s the beginning of a story worth telling.
Story by:
Dr Rita Fosu Yeboah
Newborn Focal Person, Ashanti Regional Health Directorate
Picture 1: Dr. Rita Fosu Yeboah at the MBU of Kumasi South Hospital. Photo credit: WHW, June 2025.