Abstract
IntroductionIt is estimated that any progress made towards improving maternal and child health in Mauritania has likely stalled. A lack of reliable and up-to-date data regarding maternal and child health indicators makes it difficult to identify current gaps and adapt international programmes to meet local needs.MethodsUsing secondary data collected as part of a baseline assessment for a maternal and child health programme being implemented in two health departments, we compared maternal and child health indicators across two different samples of pregnant women and children under-five in M'bagne and Guérou. Descriptive analyses were conducted using a Pearson's Chi-Squared test, assuming a binomial distribution and a confidence level of alpha=0.05.ResultsOur results indicated that there were marked regional differences in maternal and child health indicators between these two rural sites, with M'bagne generally performing better across a range of indicators including: immunisation rates, child registration, vitamin A supplementation, deworming, delivery in the presence of a skilled birth attendant, and post-natal care coverage. In Guérou we observed lower rates of fever, diarrhoea, and fast and difficult breathing among children under-five.ConclusionThough socio-cultural differences may play a part in explaining some of these observed differences, these alone do not account for the observed differences in maternal and child health indicators. Context-specific activities to overcome barriers to care must be designed to address such rural regional differences if we are to see an improvement across maternal and child health indicators and accelerate progress towards MDGs 4 & 5 in Mauritania.
Highlights
It is estimated that any progress made towards improving maternal and child health in Mauritania has likely stalled
The secondary data analysed for this paper were collected as part of a baseline assessment for a maternal and child health programme being implemented in both departments as part of World Vision Ireland's Access to Infant and Maternal Health Programme (AIMHealth)
Our results show that there are marked regional differences in maternal and child health indicators between the two rural sites, with M’bagne generally performing better across most of the indicators examined
Summary
It is estimated that any progress made towards improving maternal and child health in Mauritania has likely stalled. Under-five (U5) mortality has decreased slightly from 124 to 111 per 1,000 live births in the same period, suggesting that Mauritania is not yet on track towards meeting MDG 4 (reducing child mortality among children under-five by two-thirds) [3,4]. It remains unclear if this lack of progress is consistent across the nation, or whether it is accounted for by the important discrepancies across rural geographical regions.
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