Health system weaknesses constrain access to PMTCT and maternal HIV services in South Africa: A qualitative enquiry
Background: HIV remains responsible for an estimated 40% of mortality in South African pregnant women and their children. To address these avoidable deaths, eligibility criteria for antiretroviral therapy (ART) in pregnant women were revised in 2010 to enhance ART coverage. With greater availability of HIV services in public health settings and increasing government attention to […]
Incremental cost of increasing access to maternal health care services: Perspectives from a demand and supply side intervention in Eastern Uganda
Introduction: High maternal and infant mortality continue to be major challenges to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals for many low and middle-income countries. There is now evidence that voucher initiatives can increase access to maternal health services. However, a dearth of knowledge exists on the cost implications of voucher schemes. This paper estimates […]
The effects of MCH insurance cards on improving equity in access and use of maternal and child health care services in Tanzania: a mixed methods analysis
BACKGROUND: Inequity in access and use of child and maternal health services is impeding progress towards reduction of maternal mortality in low-income countries. To address low usage of maternal and newborn health care services as well as financial protection of families, some countries have adopted demand-side financing. In 2010, Tanzania introduced free health insurance cards […]
A protocol for a pilot cluster randomized control trial of e-vouchers and mobile phone application to enhance access to maternal health services in Cameroon
Background: Cameroon still has relatively high maternal mortality rate (MMR) of 596/100,000 live births. Approximately 40% of births are unattended by skilled healthcare personnel with high out-of-pocket expenditures. Poor resource allocation, poorly functioning referral systems, long trekking distances to health facilities, all of which lead to low rates of use of maternal health services. Objectives: […]
Improving maternal health in Pakistan: Toward a deeper understanding of the social determinants of poor women’s access to maternal health services
Evidence suggests national- and community-level interventions are not reaching women living at the economic and social margins of society in Pakistan. We conducted a 10-month qualitative study (May 2010-February 2011) in a village in Punjab, Pakistan. Data were collected using 94 in-depth interviews, 11 focus group discussions, 134 observational sessions, and 5 maternal death case […]
Improving access to and use of maternal health services during COVID-19: Experience from a health system strengthening project in Guinea
The purpose of this study was to document the experience of health providers’ capacity strengthening during health crises and the contribution of such to the health system and the population resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic in Guinea. We conducted a cross-sectional study using routine data collected from 41 health facilities in the […]
Examining the Implementation of the Performance-Based Financing Equity Strategy in Improving Access and Utilization of Maternal Health Services in Cameroon: A Qualitative Study
Performance-based financing (PBF)—a supply-side strategy that incentivizes health providers based on predefined quality and quantity criteria—introduced an innovative approach to reaching the poor by means of using PBF equity instruments. These PBF equity instruments include paying providers more to reach out to poor women, selecting services used by the poor, subsidizing user fees to reduce […]
Emergency transport for obstetric emergencies: Integrating community-level demand creation activities for improved access to maternal, newborn, and child health services in northern nigeria
Purpose: Ensuring adequate access to skilled birth attendants during and after childbirth is a key strategy to reducing maternal and newborn mortalities. Transportation difficulties in emergency situations continue to be a significant barrier to accessing emergency obstetric care, especially in rural and hard-to-reach areas. Emergency transport schemes (ETS) have been introduced in various settings to […]
Barriers and facilitators of access to maternal, newborn and child health services during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria: findings from a qualitative study
Background: COVID-19 pandemic may have affected the utilization of maternal and newborn child health services in Nigeria but the extent, directions, contextual factors at all the levels of healthcare service delivery in Nigeria is yet to be fully explored. The objective of the study was to explore the barriers and facilitators of access to MNCH […]
Why don’t illiterate women in rural, Northern Tanzania, access maternal healthcare?
Background: In 2017, roughly 540 women in Sub-Saharan Africa died every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. To stem this public-health crisis, the WHO recommends a standard continuity of maternal healthcare, yet most women do not receive this care. Surveys suggest that illiteracy limits the uptake of the recommended care, yet little […]
