The Collateral Damage of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Surgical Health Care in Sub-Saharan Africa
The COVID-19 pandemic has swept across the globe at an unprecedented pace. The first COVID-19 case arrived in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) on February 28, 2020, and there are over 600 000 cases spread across the continent [1]. The World Health Organisation has predicted up to a quarter of a billion infections on the continent [2]. […]
Early onset severe preeclampsia and eclampsia in a low-resource setting, Mpilo Central Hospital, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Objectives: Early-onset severe preeclampsia is associated with significant maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality especially in low-resource settings, where women have limited access to antenatal care. This dataset was generated from a retrospective cross-sectional study carried out at Mpilo Central Hospital, covering the period February 1, 2016 to July 30, 2018. The aim of the […]
Socioeconomic inequalities in the uptake of maternal healthcare services in Ethiopia
Background: The progress in coverage of maternal health services in Ethiopia has been rather slow over the past decade and consequently the maternal mortality ratio was very high (673 per 100,000 live births) among the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and remained constant during 2005-11 period. Earlier studies have mostly focused on determinants of maternal health […]
Wealth Status, Health Insurance, and Maternal Health Care Utilization in Africa: Evidence from Gabon
Background. To achieve the universal health coverage among other Sustainable Development Goals, African countries have shown the commitment by implementing strategies to improve access and coverage of health care services whose access is still very low. The achievement of universal health care requires the provision and availability of an adequate financing system. This study explored […]
Incidence-proportion of maternal near-misses and associated factors in southwest ethiopia: A prospective cross-sectional study
Background: Pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality continue to have a serious impact on the lives of women all over the world. Women in sub-Saharan Africa accounted for nearly two-thirds of global maternal deaths. The World Health Organization recommends monitoring maternal near-miss provides better information regarding the quality of maternal health care, on which to base action […]
Impacts of maternal mortality on living children and families: A qualitative study from Butajira, Ethiopia
Background: The consequences of maternal mortality on orphaned children and the family members who support them are dramatic, especially in countries that have high maternal mortality like Ethiopia. As part of a four country, mixed-methods study (Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa, and Tanzania) qualitative data were collected in Butajira, Ethiopia with the aim of exploring the […]
Socio-demographic determinants of post-caesarean neonatal mortality in Nigeria
Neonatal mortality remains a major health concern in sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted a cross-sectional, population-based, retrospective analysis of 31,828 births between 2009 and 2013 to explore the relationship between socio-demographic variables and post-caesarean neonatal mortality in Nigeria. We calculated the caesarean section (CS) rates, the odds of having a CS and post-CS neonatal mortality within […]
Implementation and effectiveness of free health insurance for the poor pregnant women in Tanzania: A mixed methods evaluation
Demand side financing strategies have been a popular means of increasing coverage and availability of effective maternal and child health services in low and middle income countries (LMIC). However, most research to date has focused on the effects of demand side financing on the use and costs of care with less attention being paid to […]
Effects of multiannual, seasonal unconditional cash transfers on food security and dietary diversity in rural Burkina Faso: The Moderate Acute Malnutrition Out (MAM’Out) cluster-randomized controlled trial
Objective To evaluate the impact of multiannual, seasonal unconditional cash transfers (UCT) provided within the Moderate Acute Malnutrition Out (MAM’Out) research project on households’ food security and children’s and caregivers’ dietary diversity.Design A two-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial with sixteen villages in the intervention group and sixteen others in the control group. A monthly allowance of […]
Maternal Combination Antiretroviral Therapy Is Associated with Improved Retention of HIV-Exposed Infants in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
Background: Programs to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission are plagued by loss to follow-up (LTFU) of HIV-exposed infants. We assessed if providing combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) to HIV-infected mothers was associated with reduced LTFU of their HIV-exposed infants in Kinshasa, DR Congo. Methods: We constructed a cohort of mother-infant pairs using routinely collected clinical data. Maternal […]
