Under-five mortality in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: secondary analyses of survey and conflict data by province
Objective To compare coverage of key child health policy indicators across provinces and to explore their association with under-five mortality and level of conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Methods We made a secondary analysis of nationally representative data from 1380 health facilities and 20 792 households in 2017–2018. We analysed provincial-level data […]
Whether weather matters: Evidence of association between in utero meteorological exposures and foetal growth among Indigenous and non-Indigenous mothers in rural Uganda
Pregnancy and birth outcomes have been found to be sensitive to meteorological variation, yet few studies explore this relationship in sub-Saharan Africa where infant mortality rates are the highest in the world. We address this research gap by examining the association between meteorological factors and birth weight in a rural population in southwestern Uganda. Our […]
The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight
Background: Perinatal mortality and morbidity continue to be major global health challenges strongly associated with prematurity and reduced fetal growth, an issue of further interest given the mounting evidence that fetal growth in general is linked to degrees of risk of common noncommunicable diseases in adulthood. Against this background, WHO made it a high priority […]
Prevalence and determinants of unintended pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa: A multi-country analysis of demographic and health surveys
Introduction Approximately 14 million unintended pregnancies are recorded annually in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We sought to investigate the prevalence and determinants of unintended pregnancies among women in sub-Saharan Africa. Materials and methods The study pooled data from current Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2016 from 29 countries […]
Cost estimation alongside a multi-regional, multi-country randomized trial of antenatal ultrasound in five low-and-middle-income countries
Background: Improving maternal health has been a primary goal of international health agencies for many years, with the aim of reducing maternal and child deaths and improving access to antenatal care (ANC) services, particularly in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). Health interventions with these aims have received more attention from a clinical effectiveness perspective than for cost […]
Neonatal Mortality and Education Related Inequality in Cesarean Births in Sub-Saharan Africa: Multi-Country Propensity Score Matching and Meta-Analysis
Background: Sub-Saharan African (SSA) newborns are ten times more likely to die in the first month than a neonate born in a high-income country. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between educational attainment and neonatal mortality (NM) among women with cesarean section (CS) deliveries in SSA countries. Methods: Using data from […]
Better than nothing? Maternal, newborn, and child health services and perinatal mortality, Lubumbashi, democratic republic of the Congo: A cohort study
Background: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has a high rate of perinatal mortality (PMR), and health measures that could reduce this high rate of mortality are not accessible to all women. Where they are in place, their quality is not optimal. This study was initiated to assess the relationship between these suboptimal maternal, newborn […]
Natural simian immunodeficiency virus transmission in mandrills: A family affair?
Understanding how pathogens spread and persist in the ecosystem is critical for deciphering the epidemiology of diseases of significance for global health and the fundamental mechanisms involved in the evolution of virulence and host resistance. Combining long-term behavioural and epidemiological data collected in a naturally infected mandrill population and a Bayesian framework, the present study […]
Predictors of measles vaccination coverage among children 6–59 months of age in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Background: Measles is a significant contributor to child mortality in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), despite routine immunization programs and supplementary immunization activities (SIA). Further, national immunization coverage levels may hide disparities among certain groups of children, making effective measles control even more challenging. This study describes measles vaccination coverage and reporting methods […]
Perceptions of health, health care and community-oriented health interventions in poor urban communities of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
In Democratic Republic of Congo access to health care is limited because of many geographical and financial barriers, while quality of care is often low. Global health donors assist the country with a number of community-oriented interventions such as free distribution of bednets, antihelminthic drugs, vitamin A supplementation and vaccination campaigns, but uptake of these […]
