ArticleBMJ global health2022
Health service utilisation during the COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa in 2020: a multicountry empirical assessment with a focus on maternal, newborn and child health services.
Article in BMJ global health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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47 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Adequate antenatal care service utilizations after the onset of COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- A systematic review of the indirect impacts of COVID-19 on sexual and reproductive health services and outcomes in humanitarian settings.BMJ global health · 2023Pooled it
- The population-level impact of COVID-19 on maternal healthcare utilization: evidence from the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey.International health · 2026Article
- Women's experiences giving birth outside of health facilities in Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Trends in maternal mortality and stillbirths by county in health facility data, Kenya, 2011-2022.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- In-hospital trends of non-communicable disease mortality during the pandemic for patients without COVID-19 at a regional referral hospital in southwestern Uganda.BMC global and public health · 2025Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small vulnerable newborns: an interrupted time series analysis in Peru and Brazil.Journal of global health · 2025Article
- Trends in reproductive and maternal healthcare indicators, Côte d'Ivoire, 2018 to 2020.Journal of public health in Africa · 2025Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on type 2 diabetes care and factors associated with care disruption in Kenya and Tanzania.Global health action · 2024Article
- Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal, newborn, and child health service coverage in Burkina Faso.Journal of global health · 2024Article
- A time-stratified, case-crossover study of heat exposure and perinatal mortality from 16 hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa.Nature medicine · 2024Article
- Trends and Inequalities in Maternal and Newborn Health Services for Unplanned Settlements of Lusaka City, Zambia.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2024Article
- Magnitude and predictors of obstetric complications during delivery among postpartum women in Ethiopia: evidence from PMA Ethiopia longitudinal survey.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Dynamic Progression of Hypertension and Diabetes in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2019 to 2023.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Article
- Effective coverage of antenatal care services in Ethiopia: a population-based cross-sectional study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- COVID-19 epidemiology, health services utilisation and health care seeking behaviour during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mweso health zone, Democratic Republic of Congo.Journal of global health · 2024Article
- When one door closes: a qualitative exploration of women's experiences of access to sexual and reproductive health services during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Utilization of Antenatal Care and Skilled Birth Delivery Services in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Mixed influence of COVID-19 on primary maternal and child health services in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
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72 authors.
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Abstract
introductionThere are concerns about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the continuation of essential health services in sub-Saharan Africa. Through the Countdown to 2030 for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health country collaborations, analysts from country and global public health institutions and ministries of health assessed the trends in selected services for maternal, newborn and child health, general service utilisation.
methodsMonthly routine health facility data by district for the period 2017-2020 were compiled by 12 country teams and adjusted after extensive quality assessments. Mixed effects linear regressions were used to estimate the size of any change in service utilisation for each month from March to December 2020 and for the whole COVID-19 period in 2020.
resultsThe completeness of reporting of health facilities was high in 2020 (median of 12 countries, 96% national and 91% of districts ≥90%), higher than in the preceding years and extreme outliers were few. The country median reduction in utilisation of nine health services for the whole period March-December 2020 was 3.9% (range: -8.2 to 2.4). The greatest reductions were observed for inpatient admissions (median=-17.0%) and outpatient admissions (median=-7.1%), while antenatal, delivery care and immunisation services generally had smaller reductions (median from -2% to -6%). Eastern African countries had greater reductions than those in West Africa, and rural districts were slightly more affected than urban districts. The greatest drop in services was observed for March-June 2020 for general services, when the response was strongest as measured by a stringency index.
conclusionThe district health facility reports provide a solid basis for trend assessment after extensive data quality assessment and adjustment. Even the modest negative impact on service utilisation observed in most countries will require major efforts, supported by the international partners, to maintain progress towards the SDG health targets by 2030.
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