OB Amoah, Henrietta Lamptey launching the report
A total of 50,992 deaths were registered in 2022, constituting about 37.8 percent of projected deaths for the 2022 registration year, according to the statistical report by the Birth and Death Registry.
This marks an improvement over the 17.0 percent of projected deaths that were registered in 2021. Among the registered deaths, a total of 18,689 were attributed to the top 11 causes of death, with Hypertension (2,573), Pneumonia (2,457), Heart failure (2,225), and Acute respiratory failure (2,203) being the most common causes.
Speaking at the report’s launch, Acting Registrar of the Births and Deaths Registry, Henrietta Lamptey, highlighted the challenges faced by the registry, including cultural factors influencing attitudes towards death registration.
She noted that some communities do not prioritize formal registration due to traditional practices and beliefs. Despite these challenges, Lamptey mentioned that death registration has improved as the registry continues to strive for universal coverage.
The registry she said has implemented various strategies such as awareness campaigns, improving accessibility to registration services, addressing cultural sensitivities, simplifying registration processes, and digitizing registration processes to shore up registration.
The report also highlighted that more than half of registered deaths occurred in hospitals, with the Greater Accra region recording the highest percentage of deaths in hospitals.
Head of Statistics, Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation at the Birth and Death Registry, Clara Anani emphasized the need for state intervention to address the issue of deaths occurring outside health facilities and ensure accurate reporting.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke