Strengthening local impact on maternal health for the most vulnerable populations

Abstract

Abstract Sanofi Espoir Foundation evaluated impact of its decade long investments, in the amount of over 5 million Euros, on addressing health inequalities globally. Focusing on Saint-Louis department in Senegal, they have mapped specific profiles' experience like pregnant teenager suffering from community stigma, and finally linked each key moment with the health determinants, actors and initiatives. This study puts into perspective the impact the health system, including healthcare practitioners, can have on the pregnancy experience in regards of the influence of other determinants such as religion, culture, education, transportation, labor conditions, physical environment, health habits as well as local actors and initiatives. Each social determinant is highly and quite equally influencing the ante- and post-natal experience of the women, whereas the health system is the key factor during childbirth experience. If social determinants in health are well known, they are not reflected as such into health programs and funding processes. Maternal and newborn health in vulnerable situations is not simply a technical concern but a complex social issue that needs to be managed with an integrated, specifically “local” approach, transforming the objective 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals about partnering and breaking down silos, from an abstract paradigm into a daily process, thanks to community engagement and global accompaniment.