Do ownership of mosquito nets, dwelling characteristics and mothers’ socio-economic status influence malaria morbidity among children under the age of 5 in Cameroon?

Objectives: This study analyzed the effect of the number of mosquito nets that are owned by households, dwelling characteristics and maternal demographic characteristics on malaria infections. Material and Methods: The 2011 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data for children under 5 years of age were used. The children were subjected to haemoglobin test and rapid […]

Philani Plus (+): A Mentor Mother Community Health Worker Home Visiting Program to Improve Maternal and Infants’ Outcomes

Pregnant mothers in South African townships face multiple health risks for themselves and their babies. Existing clinic-based services face barriers to access, utilization, and human resource capacities. Home visiting by community health workers (CHW) can mitigate such barriers. The Philani Plus (+) Intervention Program builds upon the original Philani CHW home-visiting intervention program for maternal […]

Pregnant in a foreign city: A qualitative analysis of diet and nutrition for cross-border migrant women in Cape Town, South Africa

How do migrant women navigate their food environment during pregnancy? Foods are imbued with new meanings in a new place, and in low-and-middle-income countries including South Africa, a changing food environment leaves the poor, including many migrants, vulnerable to malnutrition. Thus, one of the ways economic and social vulnerability may be experienced and reproduced is […]

“if you are on duty, you may be afraid to come out to attend to a person”: Fear of crime and security challenges in maternal acute care in Nigeria from a realist perspective

Background: Maternal and Child Health is a global priority. Access and utilization of facility-based health services remain a challenge in low and middle-income countries. Evidence on barriers to providing and accessing services omits information on the role of security within facilities. This paper explores the role of security in the provision and use of maternal […]

District-level health system strengthening for universal health coverage: Evidence from a longitudinal cohort study in rural Madagascar, 2014-2018

Introduction Despite renewed commitment to universal health coverage and health system strengthening (HSS) to improve access to primary care, there is insufficient evidence to guide their design and implementation. To address this, we conducted an impact evaluation of an ongoing HSS initiative in rural Madagascar, combining data from a longitudinal cohort and primary health centres. […]

Common perinatal mental disorders and post-infancy child development in rural Ethiopia: A population-based cohort study

Objective: To investigate whether maternal common mental disorders (CMD) in the postnatal period are prospectively associated with child development at 2.5 and 3.5 years in a rural low-income African setting. Methods: This study was nested within the C-MaMiE (Child outcomes in relation to Maternal Mental health in Ethiopia) population-based cohort in Butajira, Ethiopia, and conducted from […]

Impact of antenatal antiretroviral drug exposure on the growth of children who are HIV-exposed uninfected: the national South African Prevention of Mother to Child Evaluation cohort study

Background: The relationship between in-utero antiretroviral (ARV) drug exposure and child growth needs further study as current data provide mixed messages. We compared postnatal growth in the first 18-months of life between children who are HIV-exposed uninfected (CHEU) with fetal exposure to ARV drugs (prophylaxis or triple-drug therapy (ART)) and CHEU not exposed to ARVs. […]

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 […]

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 […]

Food Crop Diversity, Women’s Income-Earning Activities, and Distance to Markets in Relation to Maternal Dietary Quality in Tanzania

Background: Women’s dietary diversity and quality are limited in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Nutrition-sensitive interventions that promote food crop diversity and women’s access to income could improve diets and address the double burden of malnutrition in LMICs. Objectives: We examined the associations among food crop diversity and women’s income-earning activities with women’s diet quality, […]