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The Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Aaron Offei, has expressed concern about the growing incidence of maternal deaths in the region. The region has recorded 200 such deaths since the beginning of the year, compared with the 2010�s figure of 165. This, he said, should be a source of worry to everybody and needed to engage serious attention of all stakeholders. Dr Offei, who was inaugurating a new maternity block for the Ejisu Government Hospital, blamed the situation on late arrivals to health facilities and poor infrastructure. He said to help reduce the high mortality rate health authorities were aggressively pushing towards making the facilities more maternal friendly. All midwives are being taken through customer care to improve the quality of service to pregnant women. Dr Osei Owusu, Medical Officer-in- charge of the Hospital, said the block, completed at the cost of GH� 85,000.00, was financed jointly from its internally generated fund (IGF) and support from other corporate bodies. He said there was no doubt that the 35-bed facility would significantly help to improve maternal health service delivery at the hospital. Mr Kwaku Yamoah Afria Ponko, Ejisu-Juaben Municipal Chief Executive, commended the hospital for the judicious use of its IGF.