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Open Access 01-12-2024 | Whooping Cough | Research article

Evolution in key indicators of maternal and child health across the wealth gradient in 41 sub-Saharan African countries, 1986–2019

Authors: Yeeun Lee, Sarah Bolongaita, Ryoko Sato, Jesse B. Bump, Stéphane Verguet

Published in: BMC Medicine | Issue 1/2024

Abstract

Background

Aggregate trends can be useful for summarizing large amounts of information, but this can obscure important distributional aspects. Some population subgroups can be worse off even as averages climb, for example. Distributional information can identify health inequalities, which is essential to understanding their drivers and possible remedies.

Methods

Using publicly available Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from 41 sub-Saharan African countries from 1986 to 2019, we analyzed changes in coverage for eight key maternal and child health indicators: first dose of measles vaccine (MCV1); Diphtheria-Pertussis-Tetanus (DPT) first dose (DPT1); DPT third dose (DPT3); care-seeking for diarrhea, acute respiratory infections (ARI), or fever; skilled birth attendance (SBA); and having four antenatal care (ANC) visits. To evaluate whether coverage diverged or converged over time across the wealth gradient, we computed several dispersion metrics including the coefficient of variation across wealth quintiles. Slopes and 5-year moving averages were computed to identify overall long-term trends.

Results

Average coverage increased for all quintiles and indicators, although the range and the speed at which they increased varied widely. There were small changes in the wealth-related gap for SBA, ANC, and fever. The wealth-related gap of vaccination-related indicators (DPT1, DPT3, MCV1) decreased over time. Compared to 2017, the wealth-gap between richest and poorest quintiles in 1995 was 7 percentage points larger for ANC and 17 percentage points larger for measles vaccination.

Conclusions

Maternal and child health indicators show progress, but the distributional effects show differential evolutions in inequalities. Several reasons may explain why countries had smaller wealth-related gap trends in vaccination-related indicators compared to others. In addition to service delivery differences, we hypothesize that the allocation of development assistance for health, the prioritization of vaccine-preventable diseases on the global agenda, and indirect effects of structural adjustment programs on health system-related indicators might have played a role.

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Title: Evolution in key indicators of maternal and child health across the wealth gradient in 41 sub-Saharan African countries, 1986–2019
Authors: Yeeun Lee
Sarah Bolongaita
Ryoko Sato
Jesse B. Bump
Stéphane Verguet
Publication date: 01-12-2024
Publisher: BioMed Central
Keywords: Whooping Cough
Diphtheria
Tetanus
Vaccination
Diarrhea
Diarrhea
Published in: BMC Medicine / Issue 1/2024
Electronic ISSN: 1741-7015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-023-03183-0

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Springer Medicine

Evolution in key indicators of maternal and child health across the wealth gradient in 41 sub-Saharan African countries, 1986–2019

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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