Early Diagnosis of HIV among Infants Born to HIV-Positive Mothers on Option-B Plus in Kampala, Uganda
Introduction. Globally, there is delay in accessing early HIV diagnosis (EID) among HIV exposed infants (HEIs). With paucity of data on EID use at Kisenyi Health Center, this study assessed factors associated with EID use among HEIs (HIV exposed infants). Method. This was a cross-sectional study of 246 HIV-positive mother-baby pairs. Data was collected by […]
Effectiveness of a large-scale, sustained and comprehensive community health worker program in improving population health: the experience of an urban health district in South Africa
Introduction: South Africa is an upper middle-income country with wide wealth inequality. It faces a quadruple burden of disease and poor health outcomes, with access to appropriate and adequate health care a challenge for millions of South Africans. The introduction of large-scale, comprehensive community health worker (CHW) programs in the country, within the context of […]
Opportunities and challenges in implementing community based skilled birth attendance strategy in Kenya
Background: Availability of skilled care at birth remains a major problem in most developing countries. In an effort to increase access to skilled birth attendance, the Kenyan government implemented the community midwifery programme in 2005. The aim of this programme was to increase women’s access to skilled care during pregnancy, childbirth and post-partum within their […]
Does the design and implementation of proven innovations for delivering basic primary health care services in rural communities fit the urban setting: The case of Ghana’s Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS)
Background: Rapid urban population growth is of global concern as it is accompanied with several new health challenges. The urban poor who reside in informal settlements are more vulnerable to these health challenges. Lack of formal government public health facilities for the provision of health care is also a common phenomenon among communities inhabited by […]
Improving survival rates of newborn infants in South Africa
Background: The number, rates and causes of early neonatal deaths in South Africa were not known. Neither had modifiable factors associated with these deaths been previously documented. An audit of live born infants who died in the first week of life in the public service could help in planning strategies to reduce the early neonatal […]
Progress in the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV in three regions of Tanzania: A retrospective analysis
Background: Mother to child transmission (MTCT) of HIV-1 remains an important problem in sub-Saharan Africa where most new pediatric HIV-1 infections occur. Early infant diagnosis of HIV-1 using dried blood spot (DBS) PCR among exposed infants provides an opportunity to assess current MTCT rates. Methods: We conducted a retrospective data analysis on mother-infant pairs from […]
Does it really matter where you live? A multilevel analysis of factors associated with missed opportunities for vaccination in sub-Saharan Africa
There is an urgent need to examine the magnitude and factors responsible for missed opportunities for vaccination, to rapidly achieve national immunization targets. The objective of the study was to examine the influence of individual, neighbourhood and country level socioeconomic position on missed opportunities for vaccination (MOV) in Sub-Saharan Africa. We used multilevel logistic regression […]
Early postnatal care use by postpartum mothers in Mundri East County, South Sudan
Background: Globally, most maternal and newborn deaths are within the first week of delivery. Early postnatal-care (EPNC) visits between 2 and 7 days detects early morbidity and averts deaths. However, there is scarcity of information on use of EPNC in Mundri East County, South Sudan. This study investigated factors associated with EPNC use among postpartum […]
Association of Higher Educational Attainment on Antenatal Care Utilization Among Pregnant Women in East Africa Using Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) from 2010 to 2018: A Multilevel Analysis
Introduction: The use of antenatal care (ANC) plays a major role in minimizing maternal and child mortality through effective and appropriate screening, preventive, or treatment intervention. Even though almost all pregnancy-related mortalities are largely preventable through adequate use of ANC, sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), particularly East African Countries, continues to share the largest share of global […]
Research priorities in maternal and neonatal health in Africa: Results using the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative method involving over 900 experts across the continent
Background: Africa will miss the maternal and neonatal health (MNH) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets if the current trajectory is followed. The African Academy of Sciences has formed an expert maternal and newborn health group to discuss actions to improve MNH SDG targets. The team, among other recommendations, chose to implement an MNH research prioritization […]
