Examining effects of user fee abolishment for women and children in Burkina Faso
In April 2016, Burkina Faso became the first African country to introduce a national policy for universal and free healthcare for pregnant women, new mothers, and children under five. However, maternal and child mortality rates in the country remain unacceptably high, and maternal and child healthcare services in many parts of the country remain limited in coverage and quality.
This project examines how this policy is being implemented in different districts and provides grounded recommendations on how to improve the effectiveness of, and adherence to, the policy. Specifically, the project will analyze existing health information system data and related data collection practices to optimize how the policy is being monitored and evaluated; identify and investigate causes for variations in costing within and among districts; and evaluate the effects of the policy on women’s ability to make decisions related to their sexual and reproductive health, including family planning. It is expected to support current efforts to examine and scale up innovative health interventions in Mali and Burkina Faso. This will provide relevant and useful information for decision-makers at national and local levels to maximize gains in positive health outcomes and reduce economic and other inefficiencies.
This project is funded by the Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa program. It is a seven-year $36 million initiative funded by Global Affairs Canada, IDRC, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Project ID
108553
Project Status
Completed
End Date
Duration
36 months
IDRC Officer
Chaitali Sinha
Total Funding
CA$ 482,510.00
Location
Burkina Faso
Programs
Global Health
Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa
Institution Country
Burkina Faso
Project Leader
Thomas Druetz
Institution
Société d'Études et de Recherches en Santé Publique
Institution Website
Outputs
|
Soins de santé gratuits pour les uns, payants pour les autres : perceptions et stratégies d’adaptation dans le district de Boulsa (Burkina Faso) Articles de revue
Author(s): Bila, Alice, Bicaba, Frank, Tiendrebeogob, Cheick, Bicaba, Abel, Druetzb, Thomas Language: French |
User fee policies and women’s empowerment : a systematic scoping review Article
User fee removal policies alone are not enough to improve women’s healthcare decision-making power. Comprehensive and multi-sectoral approaches are needed to bring sustainable change regarding women’s empowerment. A focus on “gender equitable access to healthcare” would serve to reconcile women’s empowerment and efforts to achieve universal health coverage. The article provides a synopsis of research that examined existing literature, with study settings in three low-income countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Sierra Leone) and two lower-middle countries (Kenya, India). Evidence suggests that user fee removal contributes to improving women’s capacity to make health decisions, but that the impact is limited. Author(s): Plouffe, Veronique, Bicaba, Frank, Bicaba, Abel, Druetz, Thomas Language: English |
Effects of terrorist attacks on access to maternal healthcare services : a national longitudinal study in Burkina Faso Article
Terrorist attacks constitute a new barrier to already fragile access to maternal healthcare in Burkina Faso. Regional insecurity needs to be recognized and investigated by global health research. The study reveals that terrorist attacks started in 2015 and have grown exponentially, reaching a total of 206 in 2018, and 411 in 2019. Problems can be compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, which as well, could instigate an upsurge of terrorist activity with increased insecurity across the Sahel region. Author(s): Druetz, Thomas, Browne, Lalique, Bicaba, Frank, Mitchell, Matthew Ian, Bicaba, Abel Language: English |
National user fee abolition and health insurance scheme in Burkina Faso : how can they be integrated on the road to universal health coverage without increasing health inequities? Article
Incorporating the free health care policy into a Universal Health Insurance (UHI) scheme was recently introduced (2019) as a solution to the debate about free health care in Burkina Faso. The article discusses options for linking free health care to an insurance plan while limiting the risk of adding to existing health inequities. In line with Universal Health Coverage and improved access to health care, the long-term ambition is for the new UHI national fund to generate surpluses that can partly contribute to sustaining the free health care policy. Author(s): Bicaba, Frank, Browne, Lalique, Kadio, Kadidiatou, Bila, Alice, Bicaba, Abel, Druetz, Thomas Language: English |