Maternal, Newborn, and Adolescent Health

Worldwide, 45 percent of births are to women aged 15-24 (UN 2012). In Uganda, the average woman becomes sexually active at 17 and has her first child at age 20 (PMA 2017a). While premarital sex and early marriage are common, they are also stigmatized, rendering youth vulnerable to exclusion from reproductive health services. As a result, only 48% of young, unmarried sexually active girls use modern contraceptives, and only 41% of users received contraceptive counseling (PMA 2017b).

Our innovation addresses two problems: lack of access to information on contraception and family planning (FP) in Madagascar, and the resulting low uptake of contraceptives and FP services. The contraceptive rate is 38.9% (PSI TRAC PF 2017) with 16.4% of married women reporting an unmet need for contraception or wanting to space/ limit pregnancy. Lack of accurate information about different contraceptive methods and lack of access to effective long-term methods are barriers to use.

Despite the deaths of many women in Malawi due to unsafe abortion, there is huge silence on the issue which is regarded as a taboo. With that silence engulfing Malawi despite over 141,000 women procuring abortion every year, interventions to address the public health challenge are not being discussed. Women continue to die in silence due to unsafe abortions. Due to the prevailing restrictive law, most abortions result in serious complications and deaths.

Le taux de prévalence contraceptive au Mali chez les femmes en union est l'un des plus bas de l'Afrique Subsaharienne. Les besoins non satisfaits en Planification Familiale estimés à 31 % restent élevés et la fécondité de 6,6 enfants par femme est préoccupante face à un taux d'accroissement de la population élevé de 3, 6 %. Le Mali compte parmi les pays où la fréquence du mariage précoce « est la plus grande à l'échelle mondiale » (Walker sept. 2013, 9).

The project aims to use a Development Impact Bond (DIB) to implement Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), a cost-effective intervention known to save and improve the lives of low birth weight and pre-term infants in low resource settings, in up to 10 hospitals in Cameroon.

With GCC funding, the SPO2 team intends to accomplish the following during its 2-year project period: Prove hypoxemia-specific mortality benefit of their oxygen system across 20 facilities (of differing levels) across Uganda. Provide access to medical oxygen for 960 hypoxemic children who would not otherwise have access, resulting in 50 lives saved. 

The innovation proposes to work with retailer associations to routinely coach/mentor their membership on the management of childhood illnesses—while also directly connecting retailers to affordable, high-quality suppliers of the recommended treatments and providing linkages with higher levels of care.

The Umbiflow (a continuous wave Doppler ultrasound apparatus) assesses the blood flow in the fetus's umbilical artery and can readily detect placental insufficiency. It is low cost and low level health care providers can be trained to use it; thus large populations of pregnant women can be screened for placental insufficiency and, if managed properly, the stillbirth prevented.

Women and girls in deprived rural communities in Uganda have little or no access to contraception due to financial constraints placed on health, contributing to continued high birth rates, poor socio-economic structures and gender inequality.

1.3 million affected Rohingya people have crossed into Bangladesh fleeing violence in Rakhine State. 316,000 of them are women of reproductive age (15-49). Among the 64,000 currently pregnant, >18% teenagers and 62% between 21-29 years. Among ever-pregnant, 42% have ≥4 and 18% have ≥3 children. Mean age at 1st marriage and 1st pregnancy is 16.8±2.2 and 18±2.4 years. Contraceptive prevalence rate 33.7%. Aim is to improve sexual and reproductive health and family planning knowledge and practices.