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 […]

An ambulance referral network improves access to emergency obstetric and neonatal care in a district of rural Burundi with high maternal mortality

Objectives: In 2006, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) established an emergency obstetric and neonatal care (EmONC) referral facility linked to an ambulance referral system for the transfer of women with obstetric complications from peripheral maternity units in Kabezi district, rural Burundi. This study aimed to (i) describe the communication and ambulance service together with the cost; […]

Efforts to alter the trajectory of neonatal mortality in Malawi: Evaluating relative effects of access to maternal care services and birth history risk factors

Background The neonatal mortality rate (NMR) in Malawi has remained stagnant at around 27 per 1000 live births over the last 15 years, despite an increase in the uptake of targeted health care interventions. We used the nationally representative 2015/16 Demographic Health Survey data set to evaluate the effect of two types of maternal exposures, […]

Increased access to antiretroviral therapy is associated with reduced maternal mortality in Johannesburg, South Africa: An Audit from 2003-2012

Objective: To assess the impact of expanded access to antiretroviral treatment (ART) on maternal mortality in Johannesburg, South Africa between 2003 and 2012. Methods: Audit of patient files, birth registers and death certificates at a tertiary level referral hospital. Cause of death was assigned independently, by two reviewers. We compared causes of deaths and the […]

Looking at the bigger picture: Effect of performance-based contracting of district health services on equity of access to maternal health services in Zambia

Zambia has been using output-based approaches for over two decades to finance whole or part of the public health system. Between 1996 and 2006, performance-based contracting (PBC) was implemented countrywide with the Central Board of Health (CBoH) as the provider of health services. This study reviews the association between PBC and equity of access to […]

Assessing the impact of geographical access to health facilities on maternal healthcare utilization: Evidence from the Burkina Faso demographic and health survey 2010

Background: Improving maternal and child health (MCH) remains a serious challenge for many developing countries. Geographical accessibility from a residence to the nearest health facility is suspected to be an important obstacle hampering the use of appropriate services for MCH especially in Sub-Sharan African countries. In Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in the Sahel region […]

Access and utilisation of reproductive, maternal, neonatal and child health services among women who inject drugs in coastal Kenya: Findings from a qualitative study

Introduction: The Kenyan government has committed to increasing access to comprehensive reproductive, maternal, neonatal and child health (RMNCH) services. However, inequalities still exist. Women who inject drugs are an important sub-population for public health interventions, yet their RMNCH needs have largely been overlooked. Additionally, there is a lack of research to inform RMNCH interventions for […]

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 […]

Is the closest health facility the one used in pregnancy care-seeking? A cross-sectional comparative analysis of self-reported and modelled geographical access to maternal care in Mozambique, India and Pakistan

Background: Travel time to care is known to influence uptake of health services. Generally, pregnant women who take longer to transit to health facilities are the least likely to deliver in facilities. It is not clear if modelled access predicts fairly the vulnerability in women seeking maternal care across different spatial settings. Objectives: This cross-sectional […]

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 […]