South Sudan
1. Mother-child health in Lacor-South Sudan
This project is implemented by Saint Mary’s Hospital Lacor in Uganda in collaboration with l’Université de Montréal in Canada, South Sudan’s Torit State Hospital and the South Sudanese Ministry of Health.
Populations in Sub-Saharan Africa suffer from some of the greatest protracted crises in the world, with more internal displacement than any other region. These populations face substantive challenges to social determinants of health including poor access to basic services. Implementing comprehensive, community-focused primary health care is a major challenge in post-conflict regions such as South Sudan and neighbouring Northern Uganda. Further, South Sudan is identified to have the highest estimates of maternal deaths globally.
This project is focusing on strengthening health systems and enhancing women’s empowerment to improve their access to maternal and child health services. The intervention is built on participatory approaches and is tailored to the local context, resources and capacities, notably through engaging existing women’s associations and local health staff.1. Health Workers' Incentives in South Sudan
This project is implemented by Building Resources Across Communities (BRAC) in collaboration with Cape Breton University in Canada and the Ministry of Health in Uganda.
Uganda is a country with high estimates of maternal deaths. In 2019, Uganda ranked poorly in regard to the quality of health care, with substantial concerns including the lack of medicine and limited number of medical staff in public hospitals. In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) undertook a systematic review of services offered by community health workers (CHWs) and identified the positive role they played in the decline of maternal and child mortality rates. WHO guidelines identify how community health workers can be utilized as a vital way to provide primary health care.
This project identifies how community health workers can be incentivized to support universal health coverage for underserved communities. This research assesses the impact of different financial and non-financial incentives on the performance of community health workers in providing maternal and child health care.