The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were not achieved by the end of 2015 in the vast majority of African countries, especially goals 4 5. However, the health ministries of these countries have, since 2010, implemented various intervention strategies to improve maternal and child health care; these are diverse and depend on the country. Some of these strategies include the exemption of user fees for maternal and newborn health services in Niger, the subsidy of emergency obstetric and neonatal care in Burkina Faso, the institution of health insurance in Ghana, the emerging plan in Senegal, an obstetric package in Mauritania, an obstetric kit in Cameroon, and insurance in Gabon.
Although these local innovative strategies have enabled noticeable progress in maternal and newborn health care, the results still fall short of the initial objectives. As we transition from the MDGs to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), from 2016–2030, it is important to first assess the various inputs used in the interventions to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality; secondly, to understand the implementation and effects of these interventions; and finally, to analyze the results in terms of their impact on maternal and newborn health to understand what they have achieved in terms of changes in the practice of care, responsiveness of the health system, and in the behavior of the population. Read more
|
|
