BACKGROUND Many sub-Saharan countries are confronted with persistently high levels of infant mortality because of the impact of a range of biological and social determinants. In particular, infant mortality has increased in sub-Saharan Africa in recent decades due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The geographic distribution of health problems and their relationship to potential risk factors can be inv...

BACKGROUND Prenatal and postnatal visits are two effective interventions for protection and promotion of maternal health by reducing maternal mortality and improving the quality of birth. There is limited nationally representative data regarding the changes of prenatal and postnatal visits since the latest health system reform initiated in 2009 in Shaanxi, China. The aim of this study was to ex...

BACKGROUND India accounts for 19% of global maternal deaths, three-quarters of which come from nine states. In 2005, India launched a conditional cash transfer (CCT) programme, Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), to reduce maternal mortality ratio (MMR) through promotion of institutional births. JSY is the largest CCT in the world. In the nine states with relatively lower socioeconomic levels, JSY pr...

INTRODUCTION In Zimbabwe the integrated disease surveillance and response guidelines include maternal mortality as a notifiable event reported through the Maternal Mortality Surveillance System (MMSS). A preliminary review of the MMSS data for Mutare district for the period January to June 2014 revealed that there were some discrepancies in cases notified and those captured on the T5 monthly re...

BACKGROUND The International Conference on Population Development held in Cairo in 1994 identified the importance of male involvement in reproductive health programs. Since then, there has been an increase in reproductive health initiatives that target both men and women in an attempt to fulfill the 5th Millenium Development Goal. Yet, while the benefits of male involvement have been acknowledg...

A majority of these maternal and neonatal deaths could be prevented with early recognition and proper implementation of required skills and knowledge (Ray and Salihu, 2004). While the Millennium Development Goals (MDG4 and 5) call for a reduction in maternal mortality by three quarters and child mortality by two thirds, this can only be achieved if health care coverage of mothers and newborns i...

In the developing world, the true incidence of obstetric fistulas is unknown, as many patients with this condition suffer in silence and isolation. Obstetric fistulas destroy the lives of many young women in the developing countries. Some estimates place the worldwide prevalence as high as 2 million women worldwide. In some rural areas of Africa, the fistula rate may approach 5-10 per 1000 deli...

OBJECTIVE To identify how 10 low- and middle-income countries achieved accelerated progress, ahead of comparable countries, towards meeting millennium development goals 4 and 5A to reduce child and maternal mortality. METHODS We synthesized findings from multistakeholder dialogues and country policy reports conducted previously for the Success Factors studies in 10 countries: Bangladesh, Camb...

OBJECTIVES The fall of the Wall in 1989 can be seen as a natural experiment in the epidemiological sense to further examine the relation between democracy and health. DESIGN AND SETTING Ecological study in the 23 post-communist countries, during the last decade of the 20th century, exploring the relations between the level of democratisation and health, taking into account as relevant confoun...