Crude childhood vaccination coverage in West Africa: Trends and predictors of completeness [version 1; Referees: 1 approved, 3 approved with reservations]
Background: Africa has the lowest childhood vaccination coverage worldwide. If the full benefits of childhood vaccination programmes are to be enjoyed in sub-Saharan Africa, all countries need to improve on vaccine delivery to achieve and sustain high coverage. In this paper, we review trends in vaccination coverage, dropouts between vaccine doses and explored the country-specific […]
Prenatal care and uptake of HIV testing among pregnant women in Gambia: A cross-sectional study
Background: Improving the coverage of antenatal care is regarded as an important strategy to reduce the risks of maternal and child mortality in low income settings like Gambia. Nonetheless, a large number of countries in Africa, including Gambia, are struggling to attain an optimum level of healthcare utilization among pregnant women. The role of socioeconomic […]
Exclusive breastfeeding rates and associated factors in 13 “economic community of West African states” (ECOWAS) countries
Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) has important protective effects on child survival and also increases the growth and development of infants. This paper examined EBF rates and associated factors in 13 “Economic Community of West African States” (ECOWAS) countries. A weighted sample of 19,735 infants from the recent Demographic and Health Survey dataset in ECOWAS countries for […]
Child vaccination in sub-Saharan Africa: Increasing coverage addresses inequalities
Background: Vaccines have substantially contributed to reducing morbidity and mortality among children, but inequality in coverage continues to persist. In this study, we aimed to examine inequalities in child vaccination coverage in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: We analysed Demographic and Health Survey data in 25 sub-Saharan African countries. We defined full vaccination coverage as a child […]
Fetal outcome in severe maternal morbidity: Too many stillbirths
Objective. We determined the stillbirth rates among singleton births in Gambian hospitals. Contribution of severe obstetric complications was given special attention. Design. A multi-center retrospective review. Setting. Three obstetric referral hospitals. Sample. Fetal outcomes in 826 women with severe maternal morbidity out of 3,280 singleton deliveries. Methods. All women with severe maternal morbidity reported in […]
Social and cultural barriers to husbands’ involvement in maternal health in rural Gambia
Introduction: While many studies have documented a number of socio-cultural barriers to male involvement in maternal health, in The Gambia very little information is known about the social and cultural practices that characterized male involvement in maternal health. This study aims to explore some of the underlying social and cultural factors affecting husbands’ involvement in […]
Quality of antenatal care predicts retention in skilled birth attendance: A multilevel analysis of 28 African countries
Background: An effective continuum of maternal care ensures that mothers receive essential health packages from pre-pregnancy to delivery, and postnatally, reducing the risk of maternal death. However, across Africa, coverage of skilled birth attendance is lower than coverage for antenatal care, indicating mothers are not retained in the continuum between antenatal care and delivery. This […]
Experiences of mothers with antenatal, delivery and postpartum care in rural Gambia.
Over the last two decades, the maternal mortality ratio appears to have fallen by up to 50% in the Farafenni, a rural area of The Gambia. This reduction almost certainly reflects improvements in access to essential obstetric services. The ratio, however, is still 50 times higher than in Western and Northern Europe or North America. […]
Maternal deaths in rural Gambia
The objective of this study was to determine causes and contributing factors to maternal deaths in a poor rural setting. We included all maternal deaths (N = 42), identified from January to September 2002, in a remote area of The Gambia. To gain a comprehensive picture of medical causes and contributing factors a combination of […]
Access to skilled attendant at birth and the coverage of the third dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine across 14 West African countries – An equity analysis
Background: Universal Health Coverage (UHC) remains a critical public health goal that continues to elude many countries of the global south. As countries strive for its attainment, it is important to track progress in various subregions of the world to understand current levels and mechanisms of progress for shared learning. Our aim was to compare […]
