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The DHS Analytical Studies 71 examines subnational variations in fertility preferences and family planning outcomes associated with poverty in married women in 12 recent Demographic and Health Surveys. Poverty is measured based on a standard set of criteria for unsatisfied basic needs and the ownership of specific assets. Households are categorized into three poverty groups: not extremely poor, extremely poor but not asset poor, and extremely poor and asset poor. This brief summarizes the...

Background and objective: maternal and neonatal mortality rates in Mozambique are high, due to insufficient numbers of qualified health workers, lack of equipment and materials, referral system deficiency, difficulties to access health services and gender issues. This study assesses the barriers to health care access, regular attendance at ante natal consultations, institutional delivery and postnatal and neonatal follow-up. This is part of the baseline study for an implementation research...

Mixed methods were used with various data sources to describe organisation and delivery of maternity care in Maputo city, Mozambique in early 2010s and to compare the plans with the service provision in practice. In the public health sector, maternity care was organised to be area based and hierarchical with a planned referral system. The provision of basic and emergency maternity care was publicly funded, largely dependent of donor funds, and free of charge for users. Even though Maputo...

Multisectoral approaches represent a prominent ideological consensus, influenced by historical roots and the current political, financial and institutional landscape, to address the multi-faceted and complex causes of most nutrition, public health and food problems. However, the implementation of multisectoral approaches presents tremendous challenges; one of the most often cited problems, in the literature and by practitioners, is coordination. This study investigates the perspectives of key...

CONTEXT: Although institutional coverage of childbirth is increasing in the developing world, a substantial minority of births in rural Mozambique still occur outside of health facilities. Identifying the remaining barriers to safe professional delivery services can aid in achieving universal coverage. METHODS: Survey data collected in 2009 from 1,373 women in Gaza, Mozambique, were used in combination with spatial, meteorological and health facility data to examine patterns in place of...

Background: In countries, such as Mozambique, where maternal mortality remains high, the greatest contribution of mortality comes from the poor and vulnerable communities, who frequently reside in remote and rural areas with limited access to health care services. This study aimed to understand women’s health care seeking practices during pregnancy, taking into account the underlying social, cultural and structural barriers to accessing timely appropriate care in Maputo and Gaza Provinces,...

Background: Striving to foster collaboration among countries suffering from maternal and child health (MCH) inequities, the MASCOT project mapped and analyzed the use of research in strategies tackling them in 11 low- and middle-income countries. This article aims to present the way in which research influenced MCH policies and programs in six of these countries – three in Africa and three in Latin America. Methods: Qualitative research using a thematic synthesis narrative process was used...

Parteiras exigem entre 500 e 2.000 meticais para realizar partos. Cobranças ilícitas nas maternidades das unidades sanitárias em Nampula, Moçambique, estão a comprometer a qualidade do atendimento materno-infantil e a “forçar” as grávidas a optarem por ter filhos na comunidade. Algumas mulheres ouvidas pela VOA no Hospital Central de Nampula denunciaram o mau atendimento nas unidades sanitárias. Acusam ainda profissionais de cobrarem entre 500 e 2.000 meticais para realizar um parto.

Background: Maternal mortality remains a daunting problem in Mozambique and many other low-resource countries. High quality antenatal care (ANC) services can improve maternal and newborn health outcomes and increase the likelihood that women will seek skilled delivery care. This study explores the factors influencing provider uptake of the recommended package of ANC interventions in Mozambique. Methods: This study used qualitative research methods including key informant interviews with...

Child marriage is one of Mozambique’s most serious but largely ignored development challenges – requiring far greater attention from policy makers Child marriage rates are still very high despite a long-term decline, especially in marriage before the age of 15. Economic pressures and the incentive of bride price appear to be powerful factors driving parents to marry off their daughters at a young age. The high rates of child marriage cannot be allowed to continue without a vigorous...

Background: As low-income countries strive to meet targets for Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, there is growing need to track coverage and quality of high-impact peripartum interventions. At present, nationally representative household surveys conducted in low-income settings primarily measure contact with the health system, shedding little light on content or quality of care. The objective of this study is to validate the ability of women in Mozambique to report on facility-based care...

The Citizen Engagement Program (CEP) supports citizens to monitor the quality of health and education service delivery in 4 of the 11 provinces of Mozambique, as well as to advocate for the improvement of the quality of those services at the district, provincial and national levels. The CEP aims at contributing towards the increased availability of relevant information for citizens to better access and benefit from services delivered by the public sector; improving citizens' capacity to...

The objective of this document is to share the results of work undertaken in Mozambique to promote respectful health care, particularly in maternal and neonatal care. With its origins in “humanization of care” efforts in Latin America, this approach centers on the woman and her family and is grounded by principles of ethics and respect for human rights. The approach recognizes a client’s cultural background, and views the client as a person with values and expectations that should be...

The number of people on antiretroviral treatment in Mozambique has increased by over 1,500 percent since it first became free and publicly available in 2004. The rising count of “lives saved” seems to portray a success story of high-tech treatment being provided in one of the poorest contexts in the world, as people with AIDS experience dramatic recoveries and live longer. The “scale-up” has had significant social effects, however, as it unfolds in a region with a complicated history...

See english abstract below. Pesquisa centrada nas políticas públicas do governo moçambicano para o setor da saúde, com foco voltado para programas de assistência à saúde materno-infantil. Tem o propósito de apresentar contextos básicos para a reflexão sobre a filosofia da implantação e implementação dos programas e a inserção da Enfermagem, mostrando seus marcos evolutivos. Constatou-se que, na década 70, o Sistema Nacional de Saúde adotou o Programa de Proteção Materno-Infantil, que na...

The main objective of this report is to capture the local configurations of gender relations in Nampula, by focussing on one rural and one urban area in the province. The former is the coastal and rural district of Mossuril, which is considered one of the most deprived districts in the province, both in terms of material poverty and human development (MAE 2005). The urban areas are Muatala and Namutequeliua, which are two of the most populous bairros in the city of Nampula and largely...

This is an update of the previous Gender Profi le for Mozambique which was produced in 2000. Sida produces gender profi les for several countries with the purpose of providing a short and concise summary of the gender equality situation in partner countries. The profi e is a desk study reviewing and compiling available statistical material that may be of interest to anyone interested in women’s social, economic and legal position and understanding gender relations in Mozambique. The human...

Despite high infant and maternal mortality rates, many Mozambican women with access to prenatal services delay prenatal clinic consultations, limiting opportunity for prevention and treatment of preventable pregnancy complications. Ethnographic research, interviews with health providers and longitudinal pregnancy case studies with 83 women were conducted in Central Mozambique to examine pregnant women's underutilization of clinic-based prenatal services. The study found that pregnancy...

The papers and discussions included in this collection are the product of a workshop, “Discovering Normality in Health and the Reproductive Body,” held in March, 2001 at Northwestern University's Program of African Studies. The idea for the workshop stemmed from a history of collaborations among Caroline Bledsoe, Jane Guyer, and Kuate Defo Barthélemy on topics of fertility, health, and research methodology. The workshop itself grew out of a commitment to continue that conversation and to...