Thank you Angela for your observations on quality of care in chilbirth facilities, where abuse of mothers and incorrect clinical decision-making can result in negative patient experiences and (worse) preventable morbidity and mortality.
"The problem as I see it, is that the midwives do not feel valued, often getting little or no pay."
This new editorial emphasises: 'To reduce maternal and newborn mortality, mothers should labor and deliver at a facility that can perform advanced services and provide appropriate care when complications arise.'
CITATION: Context Matters: Strategies to Improve Maternal and Newborn Health Services in Sub-Saharan Africa
Florina Serbanescu, Margaret E. Kruk, Sunday Dominico and Kojo Nimako
Global Health: Science and Practice April 2022, 10(2):e2200119; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-22-00119
COMMENT: By definition this means facilities where staff/midwives are empowered to deliver care, including fulfilment of their SEISMIC needs: skills, equipment, information, systems support, medicines, incentives (including a decent salary) and communication facilities.
https://www.hifa.org/about-hifa/hifa-universal-health-coverage-and-human...
The editorial notes the success of Tanzania where the main focus was on 'increasing availability of and access to emergency obstetric and newborn care (through improvements in facility infrastructure, staffing, equipment and supplies, training, and supportive supervision)'.
If health workers feel part of a system where they are valued and empowered to deliver quality care, this will inevitably lead to better health outcomes and increased uptake of facility-based care. As we have discussed previously on HIFA, there is a strong case that health systems should be more healthcare-worker-centred. This in turn will ensure that health systems are more patient-centred.
Neil Pakenham-Walsh, Global Coordinator HIFA, www.hifa.org neil@hifa.org
Global Healthcare Information Network: Working in official relations with WHO
