Infant Mortality in Ghana:Investing in Healthcare Infrastructure & Systems

Child and infant mortality is a global problem. Almost half of deaths of children under age five occur in the neonatal period, the first 28 days of life, and 2.4 million neonatal deaths globally in 2020. Sub-Saharan Africa has disproportionately high numbers of neonatal deaths. Ghana’s neonatal mortality rate is 22.8 per 1,000 live births and remains behind targets set by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Quality antenatal care, postnatal monitoring, breastfeeding support, and postnatal family planning are important in preventing neonatal deaths. While Ghana has made progress in making care more financially accessible, it has not been matched with the improvements in the critical infrastructure required to ensure quality healthcare. The improvements have alsonot eliminated out-of-pocket costs for care, which have hindered progress in decreasing infant mortality. Policymakers should consider investments in healthcare infrastructure, including expanding public-privatepartnerships. Policies that improve workforce development programs, transportation infrastructure, and health insurance systems improvements are needed.