The association between infant and young child feeding practices and diarrhoea in Tanzanian children
Background: Diarrhoea is a leading cause of child mortality in Tanzania. The association between optimal infant feeding practices and diarrhoea has been reported elsewhere, but the evidence has been limited to promote and advocate for strategic interventions in Tanzania. This study examined the association between infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and diarrhoea in […]
Implementing demand side targeting mechanisms for maternal and child health-experiences from national health insurance fund program in Rungwe District, Tanzania
Background: Low and middle income countries have adopted targeting mechanisms as a means of increasing program efficiency in reaching marginalized people in the community given the available resources. Design of targeting mechanisms has been changing over time and it is important to understand implementers’ experience with such targeting mechanisms since such mechanisms impact equity in […]
Household food access and child malnutrition: Results from the eight-country MAL-ED study
Background: Stunting results from decreased food intake, poor diet quality, and a high burden of early childhood infections, and contributes to significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although food insecurity is an important determinant of child nutrition, including stunting, development of universal measures has been challenging due to cumbersome nutritional questionnaires and concerns about lack of […]
Associations of Enteric Protein Loss, Vaccine Response, Micronutrient Deficiency, and Maternal Depressive Symptoms with Deviance in Childhood Linear Growth: Results from a Multicountry Birth Cohort Study
We identified the determinants of positive (children who had a birth weight, 2.5 kg and/or maternal height, 145 cm but were nonstunted at 24 months of age) and negative (children who had a birth weight $ 2.5 kg and maternal height $ 145 cm but were stunted at 24 months of age) deviance in childhood […]
The status of maternal and newborn health care services in Zanzibar
Background: It is estimated that 287,000 women worldwide die annually from pregnancy and childbirth-related conditions, and 6.9 million under-five children die each year, of which about 3 million are newborns. Most of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. The maternal health situation in Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar is similar to other sub-Saharan countries. This study […]
An account for barriers and strategies in fulfilling women’s right to quality maternal health care: A qualitative study from rural Tanzania
Background: Tanzania has ratified and abides to legal treaties indicating the obligation of the state to provide essential maternal health care as a basic human right. Nevertheless, the quality of maternal health care is disproportionately low. The current study sets to understand maternal health services’ delivery from the perspective of rural health workers’, and to […]
Addressing the huge poor–rich gap of inequalities in accessing safe childbirth care: A first step to achieving universal maternal health coverage in Tanzania
Introduction Despite skilled attendance during childbirth has been linked with the reduction of maternal deaths, equality in accessing this safe childbirth care is highly needed to achieving universal maternal health coverage. However, little information is available regarding the extent of inequalities in accessing safe childbirth care in Tanzania. This study was performed to assess the […]
Effectiveness of sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine for intermittent preventive treatment of malaria and adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women
Effectiveness of intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy with sulfadoxine– pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) for prevention of malaria and adverse birth outcomes can be compromised by parasites-resistance to sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine. This study prospectively evaluated the effectiveness of IPTp-SP in Southeast Tanzania. From January 2017 to May 2019, HIV-negative and malaria-negative (mRDT) pregnant women attending their first antenatal-care visit in […]
Drivers of food consumption among overweight mother-child dyads in Malawi
To address the increase in overweight and obesity among mothers and children in sub- Saharan Africa, an understanding of the factors that drive their food consumption is needed. We hypothesized food consumption in Malawi is driven by a combination of factors, including season, food accessibility (area of residence, convenience of purchasing food, female autonomy), food […]
Maternal healthcare services use in Mwanza Region, Tanzania: A cross-sectional baseline survey
Background: Improving maternal health by reducing maternal mortality/morbidity relates to Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Achieving this goal is supported by antenatal care (ANC), health facility delivery, and postpartum care. This study aimed to understand levels of use and correlates of uptake of maternal healthcare services among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) […]
