What prevent women for a sustainable use of maternal care in two medical districts of Burkina Faso? A qualitative study

Introduction: Skilled attendance is one of the major strategies to curtail maternal mortality,  specifically in developing countries. Despite the low level of equipment, it is only in health facilities that skilled care are provided during pregnancy and childbirth; but there are some barriers which prevent women to use health facilities for good care.Methods: This study was carried out in Ouargaye where a skilled care initiative was implemented by Family care International with the aim to increase the skilled attendance at delivery and Diapaga, the control district. Thirty (30) In-depth interviews, 8 Focus group discussions and 6 non participant observations were carried out. Participants were women from 15-49 years. All the interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed and analysed line by line. NVIVO was used to manage the interviews.Results: Four types of barriers have been described by women; 1) the cultural barriers concern the low status of women in the two districts and some traditional beliefs which mean that women can not always decide to use health facility by themselves. 2) The geographical barrier is about the distance to reach health facility and the lack of transport means. 3) The financial barrier to pay care and drugs. 4) Bad organization of care and poor quality of care provided to womenConclusion: To minimize the risk of complications during pregnancy and childbirth, it is important that women use health facilities. The barriers described by women are not insurmountable but needed to be integrated in a global comprehensive health policy.Key words: Maternal care, skilled care, rural, medical district, Burkina Fas

Application de l'outil équitable sensible à l'impact (EQUIST) à l'élaboration de politiques fondées sur des données probantes pour améliorer les résultats en matière de santé maternelle et infantile au Burkina Faso

English version available in IDRC Digital Librar

Application of equitable impact sensitive tool (EQUIST) in evidence informed policymaking to improve maternal and child health outcomes in Senegal

The policy brief reviews evidence drawn from the application of EQUitable Impact Sensitive Tool (EQUIST). In terms of improving maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) outcomes, extending services to the most deprived and marginalized communities not only averts more deaths, but also is more cost effective. UNICEF designed the EQUitable Impact Sensitive Tool (EQUIST online tool http://equist.info/en/pages/home) to enable the global health community to improve equity in MNCH and reduce health disparities between marginalized and wealthier groups. Among the most critical health systems components that requires strengthening is the concept of health equity

Promoting research to improve maternal, neonatal, infant and adolescent health in West Africa : the role of the West African Health Organisation

In this commentary, officials and other members of the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) examine the regional organisation’s role in promoting research as a tool for strengthening maternal and infant health in West Africa. While WAHO’s anchor point at the country level is the Ministry of Health, by integrating research into its work the organisation now works alongside other stakeholders including networks of research centres and universities

COVID-19 pandemic waves: how prepared is West Africa for managing a high COVID-19 caseload? Urgent actions needed

The ECOWAS Region and the world have learnt a lot in the last year and a half concerning the pandemic. As the pandemic continues to evolve, the region needs to put together all these lessons in other to better protect its people, rebuild its economy and strengthen the regional health security for better regional prosperity. We reviewed the response mounted by the region from January 2020 to July 2021 and the existing body of knowledge. We recommend that the region quickly increase the COVID-19 immunization coverage, sustain the enhance genomic surveillance, improve testing and the strengthen point of entry surveillance

Promoting knowledge transfer and culture of evidence use for health systems strengthening in West Africa

This one-page poster/policy brief describes preliminary results of promoting the culture of health research evidence in strengthening health systems in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sub-region. This West African Health Organization (WAHO) policy report shows some indicators of the use of health research in policy making.

Application of equitable impact sensitive tool (EQUIST) in evidence informed policymaking to improve maternal and child health outcomes in Burkina Faso

French version available in IDRC Digital LibraryThis brief puts forward policy options and strategies towards improved health equity and access to health care services in Benin. The concept of health equity is a critical component that requires strengthening to improve maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) outcomes in Burkina Faso. UNICEF has designed the EQUitable Impact Sensitive Tool (EQUIST) to enable the global health community to improve equity in MNCH and to reduce health disparities. The brief reviews findings from a study using the EQUIST Situation Analysis of maternal and child health outcomes in Benin by sub-national categorization, wealth, and residence

Promoting evidence informed policy making in Nigeria : a review of the maternal, newborn and child health policy development process

The study reviewed policy documents on maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) in Nigeria to assess the application of evidence-informed mechanisms in the policy formulation process. From a literature review, policy documents indicate that a consultative process of collection of inputs involving multiple stakeholders was employed, but there was no rigorous scientific process of assessing, adaptation and application of scientific evidence acknowledged in the policy development process. The policy documents neither reported the process of production of evidence used in their development nor indicated the mechanisms in place for knowledge transfer and use of health research findings

Governance, priorities and policies in national research for health systems in West Africa (Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone)

Contributions to the content of this paper through interviews, presentations and mapping exercises were made by country teams present at the March 2011 Dakar workshopWorkshop objectives (2011) identified shared problems that could be tackled through collective strategies, and action plans to be tailored to each country (Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali and Sierra Leone). Goals for research for health (R4H) system strengthening were identified as priority areas for development in the four countries. The papers provide a descriptive review of key elements of the national health research systems in each country, and present a cross-country comparison, highlighting similarities and differences in country needs and challenges with respect to R4H system development