As Ghana marked World Breastfeeding Week 2026, healthcare workers in the Gomoa West District intensified home-based maternal healthcare visits to ensure nursing mothers with disabilities received tailored lactation and nutrition guidance right at their doorsteps.
The initiative aligned with the district’s ambitious goal to become Ghana’s first fully certified Disability-Friendly Health District, an agenda championed by frontline health staff, local civil society, and public health nurse and disability inclusion advocate, Miss Gifty Akosua Adzigbey.
World Breastfeeding Week is observed annually to highlight the critical role of early and exclusive breastfeeding in reducing infant mortality, preventing childhood malnutrition, and fostering long-term cognitive development.
However, nursing mothers with physical, sensory, or mobility impairments often face significant hurdles when accessing routine post-natal care at health facilities, ranging from inaccessible transport systems to physical architectural barriers at clinics.
To bridge that gap, public health nurses across the district took clinical expertise directly into the homes of vulnerable mothers.
Highlighting a recent field outreach, Miss Adzigbey commended public health nurse Ms. Catherine Arhin for executing a comprehensive home visit to a nursing mother living with a disability in the district.
During the home session, Ms. Arhin provided practical, one-on-one clinical guidance tailored to the mother’s physical comfort, focusing on optimal positioning and attachment, educating the mother on ergonomic holding positions and proper latching techniques to prevent breast discomfort and ensure effective milk transfer, and the multi-faceted benefits of exclusive breastfeeding, emphasising the nutritional, immunological, and economic advantages of feeding infants exclusively with breast milk for the first six months of life without introducing water or supplementary foods.
“As a Public Health Nurse and Disability Inclusion Advocate, I ensure that every health day celebration is truly inclusive – leaving no one behind,” Miss Adzigbey stated.
“In Gomoa West, our collective goal is clear: to become the first Disability-Friendly District, and every staff member is committed to making this vision a reality.”
Healthcare leaders in the district stressed that achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) requires equity in healthcare delivery, where public health initiatives intentionally accommodate marginalised populations.
Advocates emphasised that empowering mothers with disabilities through home-based post-natal support safeguards infant health and reinforces family stability across rural communities.
“Because we know, a healthy community begins with a healthy baby,” Miss Adzigbey added.
The home-visitation model adopted by health personnel in Gomoa West served as a practical blueprint for other MMDAs seeking to operationalise inclusive healthcare and eliminate maternal-child health disparities across Ghana.
SOURCE: DisabilityNewsGH.com
