“As a woman who watches how my family is… I take the difficult decisions”: a qualitative study on integrated family planning and childhood immunisation services in five African countries
Background: Family planning (FP) has the potential to improve maternal and child health outcomes and to reduce poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. However, substantial unmet need for modern contraceptive methods (MCMs) persists in this region. Current literature highlights multi-level barriers, including socio-cultural norms that discourage the use of MCMs. This paper explores women’s choices and decision-making […]
The REFANI-S study protocol: A non-randomised cluster controlled trial to assess the role of an unconditional cash transfer, a non-food item kit, and free piped water in reducing the risk of acute malnutrition among children aged 6-59 months living in camps for internally displaced persons in the Afgooye corridor, Somalia
Background: The prevalence of acute malnutrition is often high in emergency-affected populations and is associated with elevated mortality risk and long-term health consequences. Increasingly, cash transfer programmes (CTP) are used instead of direct food aid as a nutritional intervention, but there is sparse evidence on their nutritional impact. We aim to understand whether CTP reduces […]
Individual and community-level factors of abortion in East Africa: a multilevel analysis
Background: Abortion is one of the top five causes of maternal mortality in low and middle-income countries. It is associated with a complication related to pregnancy and childbirth. Despite this, there was limited evidence on the prevalence and associated factors of abortion in East African countries. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence and […]
Sources of Health Care Among Under-5 Malawian Children With Diarrhea Episodes: An Analysis of the 2017 Demographic and Health Survey
Diarrhea is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world but mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa. These could be prevented if universal coverage of current available interventions were implemented. The study aimed to identify factors associated with the choice of health care source among caretakers seeking treatment for under-5 children with diarrhea illness. Using […]
Perceptions on acceptability of the 2016 WHO ANC model among the pregnant women in Phalombe District, Malawi – a qualitative study using Theoretical Framework of Acceptability
Background: The World Health Organization introduced a new model of care, ‘The 2016 WHO ANC Model’ to overcome challenges encountered during the implementation of the Focused Antenatal Care Approach. For any new intervention to achieve its objective, it must be widely accepted by both the deliverers and recipients. Malawi rolled out the model in 2019 […]
Early Child Development Outcomes of a Randomized Trial Providing 1 Egg per Day to Children Age 6 to 15 Months in Malawi
Background: Eggs are a rich source of nutrients important for brain development, including choline, riboflavin, vitamins B-6 and B-12, folate, zinc, protein, and DHA. Objective: Our objective was to evaluate the effect of the consumption of 1 egg per day over a 6-mo period on child development. Methods: In the Mazira Project randomized controlled trial, […]
Determinants of exclusive breastfeeding in infants of six months and below in Malawi: A cross sectional study
Background: UNICEF and WHO recommend that all children should be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life as breastmilk contains all the nutrients an infant needs during this period. In Malawi, exclusive breastfeeding has been declining from 72% (2009), 70.2% (2014) and 61% in the most recent survey (2015-16). We aimed to determine […]
The use of manual vacuum aspiration in the treatment of incomplete abortions: A descriptive study from three public hospitals in Malawi
Malawi has a high maternal mortality rate, of which unsafe abortion is a major cause. About 140,000 induced abortions are estimated every year, despite there being a restrictive abortion law in place. This leads to complications, such as incomplete abortions, which need to be treated to avoid further harm. Although manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) is […]
Effects of women’s groups practising participatory learning and action on preventive and care-seeking behaviours to reduce neonatal mortality: A meta-analysis of cluster-randomised trials
Background: The World Health Organization recommends participatory learning and action (PLA) in women’s groups to improve maternal and newborn health, particularly in rural settings with low access to health services. There have been calls to understand the pathways through which this community intervention may affect neonatal mortality. We examined the effect of women’s groups on […]
Mid-thigh circumference as an indicator of nutritional status to predict adverse pregnancy outcomes among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women in Malawi
Background: High rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes globally raise the need to understand risk factors and develop preventative interventions. The Pregnancy Outcomes in the Era of Universal Antiretroviral Treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa (POISE Study) was a prospective, observational cohort study conducted from 2016 to 2017 in Blantyre, Malawi. We examine the associations between indicators of […]
