The role of faith-based organizations in maternal and newborn health care in Africa.

BACKGROUND Global disparities in maternal and newborn health represent one of the starkest health inequities of our times. Faith-based organizations (FBOs) have historically played an important role in providing maternal/newborn health services in African countries. However, the contribution of FBOs in service delivery is insufficiently recognized and mapped. OBJECTIVES A systematic review of the literature to assess available evidence on the role of FBOs in the area of maternal/newborn health care in Africa. SEARCH STRATEGY MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched for articles published between 1989 and 2009 on maternal/newborn health and FBOs in Africa. RESULTS Six articles met the criteria for inclusion. These articles provided information on 6 different African countries. Maternal/newborn health services provided by FBOs were similar to those offered by governments, but the quality of care received and the satisfaction were reported to be better. CONCLUSION Efforts to document and analyze the contribution of FBOs in maternal/newborn health are necessary to increase the recognition of FBOs and to establish stronger partnerships with them in Africa as an untapped route to achieving Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5.