Accra, Ghana – 21 November 2024 – The Ghana Health Service, USAID’s Center for Innovation and Impact (CII), Grand Challenges Canada, and AMP Health are proud to announce the launch of a set of 10 innovative maternal and neonatal health projects across six priority regions of Ghana as part of the Country Innovation Platform Ghana Pilot partnership. These locally-led innovations were selected, through a competitive process under the guidance of leaders in the Ghanaian health sector, for their potential to tackle persistent healthcare challenges and aim to improve health outcomes for mothers and newborns.
This pilot program aims to identify and support African innovations in maternal and newborn health in six priority regions of Ghana.
“The Country Innovation Platform is more than just a project; it is our shared vision for a healthier Ghana. By embracing innovation as a catalyst for change, we are paving the way for scalable solutions that directly support our goal of Universal Health Coverage. The CIP is a vital link between our health system and the innovators who can help us address our most pressing challenges. Together, we can create sustainable, contextually relevant solutions that improve health outcomes for all Ghanaians,” said Dr. Mrs. Alberta Adjeben Biritwum-Nyarko, Director of Policy, Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation, Ghana Health Service.
While Ghana has made significant progress in reducing maternal and newborn mortality, there is still much work to be done to improve outcomes. Poor access to quality services in rural and remote areas, low skilled birth attendance, limited availability of essential medicines, weak referral linkages, and inadequate emergency transportation threaten the lives of women and children in Ghana.
The Country Innovation Platform (CIP) Ghana partners chose to focus on four key outcomes: improved communication and tracking in patient referrals, better access to emergency transport for pregnant women and newborns, enhanced skills of healthcare workers in emergency maternal and newborn health services, and increased availability of essential medicines and supplies.
With funding from Grand Challenges Canada, the projects selected from the open funding call have each been awarded CAD $250,000 for a period of up to 21 months to develop and test their solutions. Together, they aim to reduce maternal and newborn mortality rates while ensuring equitable access to quality healthcare services through technology, community-based solutions, and strategic partnerships.
The selected pilot projects include:
- POCUS in Emergency Obstetrics
The Society of Family Physicians of Ghana, in partnership with Global Ultrasound Institute, is launching the POCUS in Emergency Obstetrics project to introduce Point of Care Ultrasound devices and a comprehensive training program for healthcare workers in Ghana’s Western and Savannah regions. This intervention is expected to facilitate immediate obstetric decision-making leading to improved maternal and fetal outcomes. - Maame-Dromo: Empowering Maternal and Newborn Health Through Digital Innovation
The Maame-Dromo mobile app being developed by Emperor Software Limited will modernize the traditional partograph – a snapshot of fetal and maternal health during labour – in the Northern and Northeast regions. The digital partograph offers an enhancement over its paper counterpart that seeks to ensure real-time identification of complications, more objective data collection, streamlined reporting for premature births, and seamless emergency obstetric and neonatal medical dispatch within an integrated referral network. - M’enaApp: Real-Time Tracking of Maternal and Neonatal Referrals
The M’enaApp, developed and implemented by Duapa Werkspace, seeks to improve healthcare in Ghana’s Western and Upper East regions by facilitating real-time tracking of maternal and neonatal referrals. The application aims to connect healthcare providers, patients, and referral facilities seamlessly, reducing delays and improving access to critical care.
- Inyabon MedSync
Led by the Zomujo Foundation, the Inyabon MedSync project aims to develop an SMS-based stock monitoring system integrated with a Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory system in the Northern and Savannah regions which will ensure the availability of essential medicines and supplies through enhanced supply chain visibility, coordination, and efficiency. In addition, precise re-order point calculations and dynamic adjustment mechanisms in the inventory system are expected to minimize stockouts and overstocking.
- Improving Maternal Health with Artificial Intelligence
The LifeLynk project, by Digital Foundation Africa, will enhance maternal health in the Northern and Western regions through an AI-powered, web-based diagnostic and referral platform for use by healthcare workers that seeks to improve access to appropriate and timely healthcare services. The solution will also integrate an SMS-based communication system where patients can opt-in to receive automated messages on follow-up appointments and treatment plans, which is expected to promote patient engagement and adherence to health journeys.
- Saving Lives One Ride at a Time: Tricycle Ambulances for Rural Communities
The Moving Health Foundation designs, manufactures, and deploys tricycle ambulances in rural areas for emergency transport, focusing on safe transportation for pregnant women and children in underserved communities of the Upper West. This pilot will assess the deployment of Gen 4 Ambulances, equipped with GPS tracking capabilities, and the team’s expansion into the Upper East region.
- Mastering Maternal and Newborn Emergencies: Elevating Healthcare Workers’ Skills
The Paediatric Society of Ghana will implement a “Live Digital Blackboard” solution. This integrated system will enable the transmission of key data and the submission of specific referral questions and requests from peripheral facilities to staff at the District/Municipal hospitals in real time. Connecting healthcare workers across various levels of facilities will facilitate decision-making, enable timely interventions, and ensure prompt escalation of referrals in emergencies.
- Innovate for Health (I4H)
The Innovate for Health (I4H) project by the Community Development Alliance will transform emergency transport in the Upper West and Savannah regions using appropriately adapted moto-tricycle ambulances and community-based management. The pilot will focus on establishing and capacitating the Community Health Emergency Transport Committee (CHETCs) to enhance community participation, local ownership, and sustainability of the emergency transport service.
- Leveraging Private Sector Pharmacies to Strengthen Maternal and Neonatal Health
The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana will integrate community pharmacies into routine maternal and neonatal healthcare and establish a Revolving Medicines Fund – a scheme where drugs are sold at cost-price, plus a mark-up, and the revenue is used to replenish the drug stocks – in the Upper West and Upper East regions. Building the capacity of pharmacy professionals in providing community-based care is expected to improve access to basic maternal and newborn health services at the community level. Establishing an RMF aims to address the issue of availability and accessibility of essential medicines to meet MNH needs in the target regions.
- ENCOMPAS: AI-Enhanced Communication for Pregnancy and Newborn Care
The ENCOMPAS project, led by Ghana’s University of Health and Allied Sciences, will design, develop, and deploy a digital technology system to improve maternal healthcare in the Upper West and North-East regions. A multi-component system will leverage key intermediaries within the health system, as well as digital technology including AI, to improve the early detection of pregnancy, improve the timing and utilization of prenatal services, as well as improve referral processes and reduce referral costs. This intervention seeks to improve the overall continuum of care for pregnant women in the target regions.
“The Country Innovation Platform Ghana Pilot is an exciting partnership highlighting how those closest to the challenges are uniquely positioned to drive scalable, sustainable solutions. It serves as a model for collaboration with governments and organizations to co-create and fund innovation, ensuring that local voices lead the selection and implementation of transformative solutions,” said Dr. Karlee Silver, CEO of Grand Challenges Canada.
Additional quotes:
“At AMP Health, we believe that local leadership is the key to creating lasting improvements in public health. The Ghana Country Innovation Platform showcases the power of collaborative partnerships, enabling Ghanaian health leaders to call for and implement local innovations that are responsive to the needs of their healthcare system and the communities it serves,” said Dr Robert Newman, AMP Health Executive Director.
“The Country Innovation Platform is an excellent example of how USAID can shift paradigms from global to locally-led innovation. Through partnership with the Ghana Health Service, Grand Challenges Canada, and AMP Health, we are piloting an open innovation approach that puts local stakeholders in the lead to design and source innovations. We’re delighted that the Ghana Health Service chose to focus on tackling maternal and newborn mortality, one of USAID’s major health priorities.” —Dr. Atul Gawande, USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health.
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NOTES FOR EDITOR
About The Country Innovation Platform (CIP) Ghana Pilot:
The Country Innovation Platform (CIP) Ghana Pilot is a partnership between the Ghana Health Service, USAID’s Center for Innovation and Impact (CII), Grand Challenges Canada, and AMP Health. This pilot program aims to identify and support African innovations in maternal and newborn health in six priority regions of Ghana.
About Ghana Health Service (GHS):
Ghana Health Service is an autonomous executive agency of the Ministry of Health established under the Ghana Health Service and Teaching Hospital Act 1996 (Act 525) to provide and prudently manage comprehensive and accessible health services with special emphasis on primary and secondary level health care at regional, district and sub-district and community levels in accordance with approved national policies. For the CIP pilot in Ghana, GHS led the co-creation process to identify health priorities and provides leadership and guidance to partners and innovators. Learn more at www.ghs.gov.gh
About Grand Challenges Canada:
Grand Challenges Canada is dedicated to supporting Bold Ideas with Big Impact®. Funded by the Government of Canada and other partners, Grand Challenges Canada funds innovators in low- and middle-income countries and Canada. The bold ideas Grand Challenges Canada supports integrate science and technology, social and business innovation – known as Integrated Innovation®.
One of the largest impact-first investors in the world, Grand Challenges Canada has supported a pipeline of over 1,700 innovations in more than 100 countries. Since 2010, innovations supported by Grand Challenges Canada have reached more than 80 million people with life-saving or life-improving initiatives who would otherwise not have had access. Learn more at www.grandchallenges.ca
About USAID
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the lead U.S. government agency that works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient democratic societies to realize their potential. USAID’s Center for Innovation and Impact (CII) takes strategic risks to incubate new ideas, put them into practice, and scale effective approaches for critical health issues. USAID/Ghana, together with the CII, is playing a leading role in the design and launch of the Country Innovation Platform in Ghana. Learn more: https://www.usaid.gov/
About AMP Health:
AMP Health supports governments to build visionary and effective public sector teams and helps them develop the necessary leadership and management skills to achieve their ambitious goals. For the CIP pilot in Ghana, AMP Health has embedded a private sector “Management Partner” within the Ghana Health Service to ensure innovations respond to country priorities, serve as the in-country coordinator of the Country Innovation Platform, and help bolster the broader innovation ecosystem. AMP Health also creates in-person and online opportunities for teams to connect with peers from other regions, share their experiences, identify best practices, and support one another through challenges. Learn more: https://www.amphealth.org/
