Strengthening maternal care key to reducing disabilities - Dr Adusu
Dr. Isaac Mawuko Adusu advocates for shifting maternal and neonatal healthcare toward prevention to reduce developmental disabilities in children. He emphasizes that investing in early intervention and quality antenatal care is more cost-effective than long-term rehabilitation.
Why it matters
This approach highlights the economic and social benefits of prioritizing public health systems over reactive disability treatment.
A public health practitioner, Dr Isaac Mawuko Adusu, has observed that many developmental disabilities are linked to preventable maternal and perinatal conditions.
He explained that factors such as maternal malnutrition, inadequate prenatal care, birth complications, neonatal infections, and delays in early developmental screening and intervention continued to contribute significantly to the problem.
Drawing on current scientific evidence, Ghana's free primary healthcare policy goals, and global public health recommendations, Dr Adusu stressed that strengthening preventive healthcare remained the most effective way to address the situation.
He made the call in a presentation at the African Allied Healthcare Summit 2026 in Accra, where he advocated expanded access to quality antenatal care, improved maternal nutrition, skilled obstetric services, strengthened neonatal care, routine developmental surveillance, and early intervention programmes.
According to him, such evidence-based strategies were practical investments that could improve lifelong outcomes for children while reducing future healthcare and social service costs.
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