Women’s development group leaders’ promotion of maternal, neonatal and child health care in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Background: Women’s development group leaders are volunteer community health workers in Ethiopia who, among other duties, promote health and prevention of diseases. They link and extend essential health services from health posts to households. Objective: To assess the characteristics, knowledge, and practice of women’s development group leaders in the field of maternal, neonatal, and child […]

Can Combining Performance-Based Financing With Equity Measures Result in Greater Equity in Utilization of Maternal Care Services? Evidence From Burkina Faso

Background: As countries reform health financing systems towards universal health coverage, increasing concerns emerge on the need to ensure inclusion of the most vulnerable segments of society, working to counteract existing inequities in service coverage. To this end, selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa have decided to couple performance-based financing (PBF) with demand-side equity measures. Still, […]

Unmasking inequalities: Sub-national maternal and child mortality data from two urban slums in Lagos, Nigeria tells the story

Introduction: Nigeria has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world as well as high perinatal mortality. Unfortunately, the country does not have the resources to assess this critical indicator with the conventional health information system and measuring its progress toward the goal of ending preventable maternal deaths is almost impossible. Médecins Sans […]

Maternal health and birth outcomes in a South African birth cohort study

Background Maternal physical and mental health during pregnancy are key determinants of birth outcomes. There are relatively few prospective data that integrate physical and mental maternal health measures with birth outcomes in low- and middle-income country settings. We aimed to investigate maternal health during pregnancy and the impact on birth outcomes in an African birth […]

The role of health extension workers in improving utilization of maternal health services in rural areas in Ethiopia: A cross sectional study

Background: Community health workers are widely used to provide care for a broad range of health issues. Since 2003 the government of Ethiopia has been deploying specially trained new cadres of community based health workers named health extension workers (HEWs). This initiative has been called the health extension program. Very few studies have investigated the […]

Stool frequency recording in severe acute malnutrition (‘StoolSAM’); An agreement study comparing maternal recall versus direct observation using diapers

Background: Approximately 50% of the deaths of children under the age of 5 can be attributed to undernutrition, which also encompasses severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Diarrhoea is strongly associated with these deaths and is commonly diagnosed solely based on stool frequency and consistency obtained through maternal recall. This trial aims to determine whether this approach […]

Abortion-related near-miss morbidity and mortality in 43 health facilities with differences in readiness to provide abortion care in Uganda

Introduction With a view to inform policy for improved postabortion care, we describe abortion-related near-miss and mortality by sociodemographic risk factors and management options by pregnancy trimester in Uganda. Methods This secondary data analysis used an adapted WHO near-miss methodology to collect cross-sectional maternal near-miss and abortion complications data at 43 health facilities in Central […]

Influence of women’s decision-making autonomy on antenatal care utilisation and institutional delivery services in Nigeria: evidence from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2018

Background: In the context of global health priority, understanding the role of power dynamics among women as an important intervention required towards achieving optimum maternal and child health outcomes is crucial. This study examined the influence of women’s decision-making autonomy on antenatal care utilisation and institutional delivery services in Nigeria. Methods: The data for the […]

Examining coverage, content, and impact of maternal nutrition interventions: The case for quality-adjusted coverage measurement

Background Reductions in neonatal mortality remain stagnant, despite gains in health care access and utilization. Nutrition interventions during antenatal care (ANC) and in the immediate postpartum period are associated with improved neonatal outcomes. Adjusting coverage estimates for the quality of care provided yields greater insight into health system performance and potential population health benefits of […]

Indigenous and tribal peoples’ health (The Lancet–Lowitja Institute Global Collaboration): a population study

Background International studies of the health of Indigenous and tribal peoples provide important public health insights. Reliable data are required for the development of policy and health services. Previous studies document poorer outcomes for Indigenous peoples compared with benchmark populations, but have been restricted in their coverage of countries or the range of health indicators. […]