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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

maternal healthcare, Rwanda, pregnancy, maternal morality

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Sociology

Abstract

Access to maternal healthcare is seriously deficient in developing countries, particularly in rural areas of Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 515,000 women die each year from pregnancy related causes, and more than half of these deaths occur in Africa (Mavalankar & Rosenfield, 2005). “Safe motherhood is a key objective for developing countries but, despite recent improvements, sub-Saharan Africa is still the most dangerous place in the world to give birth” (Chambers & Booth, 2012). Although Africa as a continent has high maternal mortality, Rwanda is improving maternal health faster than any African country. Rwandan health policies have sought to improve health practices by increasing accessibility through the coordination of external aid and government policy; policy efforts have included monitoring the effectiveness of aid, a country-wide independent community health insurance scheme, and the introduction of a performance based pay initiative (Logie, Rowson, & Ndagije, 2008). In 2005 only 28% of women were giving birth at health facilities in Rwanda, whereas by 2010 the percent had risen to 69% (Chambers & Booth, 2012).

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