Erosion of the Capital City Advantage in Child Survival and Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Intervention Coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The place of residence is a major determinant of RMNCH outcomes, with rural areas often lagging in sub-Saharan Africa. This long-held pattern may be changing given differential progress across areas and increasing urbanization. We assessed inequalities in child mortality and RMNCH coverage across capital cities and other urban and rural areas. We analyzed mortality data from 163 DHS and MICS in 39 countries with the most recent survey conducted between 1990 and 2020 and RMNCH coverage data from 39 countries. We assessed inequality trends in neonatal and under-five mortality and in RMNCH coverage using multilevel linear regression models. Under-five mortality rates and RMNCH service coverage inequalities by place of residence have reduced substantially in sub-Saharan Africa, with rural areas experiencing faster progress than other areas. The absolute gap in child mortality between rural areas and capital cities and that between rural and other urban areas reduced respectively from 41 and 26 deaths per 1000 live births in 2000 to 23 and 15 by 2015. Capital cities are losing their primacy in child survival and RMNCH coverage over other urban areas and rural areas, especially in Eastern Africa where under-five mortality gap between capital cities and rural areas closed almost completely by 2015. While child mortality and RMNCH coverage inequalities are closing rapidly by place of residence, slower trends in capital cities and urban areas suggest gradual erosion of capital city and urban health advantage. Monitoring child mortality and RMNCH coverage trends in urban areas, especially among the urban poor, and addressing factors of within urban inequalities are urgently needed.

Measuring coverage of maternal and child health services using routine health facility data: a Sierra Leone case study.

BACKGROUND: There are limited existing approaches to generate estimates from Routine Health Information Systems (RHIS) data, despite the growing interest to these data. We calculated and assessed the consistency of maternal and child health service coverage estimates from RHIS data, using census-based and health service-based denominators in Sierra Leone. METHODS: We used Sierra Leone 2016 RHIS data to calculate coverage of first antenatal care contact (ANC1), institutional delivery and diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus 3 (DPT3) immunization service provision. For each indicator, national and district level coverages were calculated using denominators derived from two census-based and three health service-based methods. We compared the coverage estimates from RHIS data to estimates from MICS 2017. We considered the agreement adequate when estimates from RHIS fell within the 95% confidence interval of the survey estimate. RESULTS: We found an overall poor consistency of the coverage estimates calculated from the census-based methods. ANC1 and institutional delivery coverage estimates from these methods were greater than 100% in about half of the fourteen districts, and only 3 of the 14 districts had estimates consistent with the survey data. Health service-based methods generated better estimates. For institutional delivery coverage, five districts met the agreement criteria using BCG service-based method. We found better agreement for DPT3 coverage estimates using DPT1 service-based method as national coverage was close to survey data, and estimates were consistent for 8 out of 14 districts. DPT3 estimates were consistent in almost half of the districts (6/14) using ANC1 service-based method. CONCLUSION: The study highlighted the challenge in determining an appropriate denominator for RHIS-based coverage estimates. Systematic and transparent data quality check and correction, as well as rigorous approaches to determining denominators are key considerations to generate accurate coverage statistics using RHIS data.

Inequalities in early marriage, childbearing and sexual debut among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.

BACKGROUND: Adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) is a major public health concern in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, inequalities in ASRH have received less attention than many other public health priority areas, in part due to limited data. In this study, we examine inequalities in key ASRH indicators. METHODS: We analyzed national household surveys from 37 countries in SSA, conducted during 1990-2018, to examine trends and inequalities in adolescent behaviors related to early marriage, childbearing and sexual debut among adolescents using data from respondents 15-24 years. Survival analyses were conducted on each survey to obtain estimates for the ASRH indicators. Multilevel linear regression modelling was used to obtain estimates for 2000 and 2015 in four subregions of SSA for all indicators, disaggregated by sex, age, household wealth, urban-rural residence and educational status (primary or less versus secondary or higher education). RESULTS: In 2015, 28% of adolescent girls in SSA were married before age 18, declined at an average annual rate of 1.5% during 2000-2015, while 47% of girls gave birth before age 20, declining at 0.6% per year. Child marriage was rare for boys (2.5%). About 54% and 43% of girls and boys, respectively, had their sexual debut before 18. The declines were greater for the indicators of early adolescence (10-14 years). Large differences in marriage and childbearing were observed between adolescent girls from rural versus urban areas and the poorest versus richest households, with much greater inequalities observed in West and Central Africa where the prevalence was highest. The urban-rural and wealth-related inequalities remained stagnant or widened during 2000-2015, as the decline was relatively slower among rural and the poorest compared to urban and the richest girls. The prevalence of the ASRH indicators did not decline or increase in either education categories. CONCLUSION: Early marriage, childbearing and sexual debut declined in SSA but the 2015 levels were still high, especially in Central and West Africa, and inequalities persisted or became larger. In particular, rural, less educated and poorest adolescent girls continued to face higher ASRH risks and vulnerabilities. Greater attention to disparities in ASRH is needed for better targeting of interventions and monitoring of progress.

Inequities in On-Time Childhood Vaccination: Evidence From Sub-Saharan Africa.

INTRODUCTION: Vaccination coverage has improved in the past decade, but inequalities persist: the poorest, least educated, and rural communities are left behind. Programming has focused on increasing coverage and reaching the hardest-to-reach children, but vaccination timeliness is equally important because delays leave children vulnerable to infections. This study examines the levels and inequities of on-time vaccination in the Sub-Saharan African region. METHODS: The most recent Demographic and Health Surveys or Multiple Indicator Clusters Surveys since 2000 from Sub-Saharan Africa were used to assess on-time vaccination and inequalities by household wealth, maternal education, and place of residence. Inequalities were quantified using slope index of inequality and concentration index. RESULTS: The analysis included 153,632 children aged 12-36 months from 40 Sub-Saharan Africa countries. Median on-time vaccination coverage was <50% in all the 4 subregions. Differences in on-time vaccination were observed by place of residence in the Southern (20.8 percentage points, 95% CI=0.8, 40.8), West (17.5 percentage points, 95% CI=5.1, 29.9), and Eastern (20.9 percentage points, 95% CI=6.5, 35.2) regions. Wealth-related inequities were observed in the Southern (22.6 percentage points, 95% CI=4.0, 41.2), Western (30.6 percentage points, 95% CI=19.1, 42.1), and Eastern (26.1 percentage points, 95% CI=8.2, 44.0) regions. Significant education-related differences in on-time vaccination were observed in the Western (20.7 percentage points, 95% CI=10.9, 30.5) and Eastern (21.2 percentage points, 95% CI=7.0, 35.4) regions. CONCLUSIONS: On-time vaccination coverage was low in all subregions and nearly all countries. Inequalities in on-time immunization by household wealth, place of residence, and education existed in most countries. Concrete strategies to improve levels of timeliness are needed. SUPPLEMENT INFORMATION: This article is part of a supplement entitled Global Vaccination Equity, which is sponsored by the Global Institute for Vaccine Equity at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

Adolescent sexual and reproductive health in sub-Saharan Africa: who is left behind?

Adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) continues to be a major public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa where child marriage, adolescent childbearing, HIV transmission and low coverage of modern contraceptives are common in many countries. The evidence is still limited on inequalities in ASRH by gender, education, urban-rural residence and household wealth for many critical areas of sexual initiation, fertility, marriage, HIV, condom use and use of modern contraceptives for family planning. We conducted a review of published literature, a synthesis of national representative Demographic and Health Surveys data for 33 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and analyses of recent trends of 10 countries with surveys in around 2004, 2010 and 2015. Our analysis demonstrates major inequalities and uneven progress in many key ASRH indicators within sub-Saharan Africa. Gender gaps are large with little evidence of change in gaps in age at sexual debut and first marriage, resulting in adolescent girls remaining particularly vulnerable to poor sexual health outcomes. There are also major and persistent inequalities in ASRH indicators by education, urban-rural residence and economic status of the household which need to be addressed to make progress towards the goal of equity as part of the sustainable development goals and universal health coverage. These persistent inequalities suggest the need for multisectoral approaches, which address the structural issues underlying poor ASRH, such as education, poverty, gender-based violence and lack of economic opportunity.

Young women's access to and use of contraceptives: the role of providers' restrictions in urban Senegal.

CONTEXT: Contraceptive prevalence is very low in Senegal, particularly among young women. Greater knowledge is needed about the barriers young women face to using contraceptives, including barriers imposed by health providers. METHODS: Survey data collected in 2011 for the evaluation of the Urban Reproductive Health Initiative in Senegal were used to examine contraceptive use, method mix, unmet need and method sources among urban women aged 15-29 who were either currently married or unmarried but sexually active. Data from a sample of family planning providers were used to examine the prevalence of contraceptive eligibility restrictions based on age and marital status, and differences in such restrictions by method, facility type and provider characteristics. RESULTS: Modern contraceptive prevalence was 20% among young married women and 27% among young sexually active unmarried women; the levels of unmet need for contraception-mostly for spacing-were 19% and 11%, respectively. Providers were most likely to set minimum age restrictions for the pill and the injectable-two of the methods most often used by young women in urban Senegal. The median minimum age for contraceptive provision was typically 18. Restrictions based on marital status were less common than those based on age. CONCLUSIONS: Training and education programs for health providers should aim to remove unnecessary barriers to contraceptive access.