Status and Drivers of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health in the Islamic World
2018
This article in The Lancet evaluates the status of, progress in, and key determinants of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health in Muslim-majority countries (MMCs). The authors examined data from 1990 to 2015, from 47 MMCs, 26 of which were among the “Countdown to 2015” countries with the highest burden of child and maternal deaths. They compared those high-burden MMCs to non-Muslim Countdown countries, and also examined the characteristics of the best-performing MMCs with accelerated improvements in child survival. They found that, despite notable reductions during the time period studied, MMCs had higher mortality rates compared to global estimates, and within Countdown countries, MMCs fared worse than non-MMCs. The authors note that health systems issues (including lower coverage for essential interventions) as well as structural and contextual factors (like state governance, political instability, conflict, and women and girls’ empowerment indicators) correlate with poorer outcomes in many MMCs, but point out that status in reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health is heterogeneous among MMCs, with “little indication that religion and its practice affects outcomes systemically.” They suggest that key findings from this study could inform policy and programmatic decisions and should be prioritized by governments, development partners, funders, and the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation to scale up and improve these health outcomes in Muslim countries in the post-2015 era.
Status and Drivers of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health in the Islamic World
Source:
Akseer N et al. Status and Drivers of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health in the Islamic World: A Comparative Analysis. The Lancet 2018; 391(10129): 1493–1512. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30183-1.