The factors associated with under-five mortality in Ethiopia

Background: Under-five mortality refers to the likelihood of dying between the ages of birth and five. The number of children under the age of five who die each year continues to climb worldwide. Over the previous few decades, the industry has made great progress in reducing mortality among children under the age of five. The […]

A new use for an old tool: Maternity waiting homes to improve equity in rural childbirth care. Results from a cross-sectional hospital and community survey in Tanzania

Limited quality of childbirth care in sub-Saharan Africa primarily affects the poor. Greater quality is available in facilities providing advanced management of childbirth complications. We aimed to determine whether Maternity Waiting Homes (MWHs) may be a tool to improve access of lower socio-economic women to such facilities. Secondary analysis of a cross-sectional hospital survey from […]

Prevalence and determinants of unintended pregnancy among women in Nairobi, Kenya

Background: The prevalence of unintended pregnancy in Kenya continues to be high. The 2003 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) showed that nearly 50% of unmarried women aged 15-19 and 45% of the married women reported their current pregnancies as mistimed or unwanted. The 2008-09 KDHS showed that 43% of married women in Kenya reported […]

Using community pharmacies to expand access to screening for noncommunicable diseases in suburban Ghana—A facility-based survey on client needs and acceptability

Background: Many of the 28 million deaths from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in low- and middle-income countries each year could be prevented through early detection and intervention. The introduction of screening for NCDs in community pharmacies (CPs) in Ghana could enhance access to early detection. Methods: We surveyed clients in three districts in suburban Ghana to […]

Factors associated with socio-demographic characteristics and antenatal care and iron supplement use in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Senegal

Antenatal care (ANC) offers remarkable opportunities to reach a large number of women with effective nutrition and health interventions, including iron (Fe) supplementation. However, all women do not equally seek nor benefit from ANC. We aimed to identify characteristics associated with ANC and Fe use among women in hard-to-reach areas in Afar, Ethiopia; Sedhiou and […]

Cost-effectiveness of peer counselling for the promotion of exclusive breastfeeding in Uganda

Background Community based breastfeeding promotion programmes have been shown to be effective in increasing breastfeeding prevalence. However, there is limited data on the cost-effectiveness of these programmes in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper evaluates the cost-effectiveness of a breastfeeding promotion intervention targetingmothers and their 0 to 6 month old children. Methods Data were obtained from a […]

Social circumstances and cultural beliefs influence maternal nutrition, breastfeeding and child feeding practices in South Africa

Background: Maternal and child undernutrition remain prevalent in developing countries with 45 and 11% of child deaths linked to poor nutrition and suboptimal breastfeeding, respectively. This also has adverse effects on child growth and development. The study determined maternal dietary diversity, breastfeeding and, infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and identified reasons for such […]

Determinants of frequency and contents of postnatal care among women in Ezha District, Southern Ethiopia, 2020: Based on who recommendation

Background: Postnatal care is a constellation of preventive care, practices, and assessments intended to detect and treat complications for both the mother and the newborn in the first six following birth. Monitoring of the content and frequency of the PNC is required to make the service provision more successful. However, several studies centered on the […]

Scale up and strengthening of comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care in Tanzania

Introduction In Tanzania, inadequate access to comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care (CEmONC) services is the major bottleneck for perinatal care and results in high maternal and perinatal mortality. From 2015 to 2019, the Accessing Safe Deliveries in Tanzania project was implemented to study how to improve access to CEmONC services in underserved rural areas. […]

Improving access to skilled facility-based delivery services: Women’s beliefs on facilitators and barriers to the utilisation of maternity waiting homes in rural Zambia

Background: Maternity waiting homes (MWHs) are aimed at improving access to facility-based skilled delivery services in rural areas. This study explored women’s experiences and beliefs concerning utilisation of MWHs in rural Zambia. Insight is needed into women’s experiences and beliefs to provide starting points for the design of public health interventions that focus on promoting […]