Publication: Can conditional cash transfers improve maternal health and birth outcomes?

Evidence from El Salvador’s Comunidades Solidarias Rurales

Although conditional cash transfers (CCTs) are traditionally evaluated in relation to child schooling and nutrition outcomes, there is growing interest in specifically examining maternal and reproductive health impacts. However, since data collection is not typically designed to evaluate these outcomes and sample sizes are often limited, there is a lack of rigorous evidence as to whether and through which pathways these effects may be realized. This paper uses regression discontinuity design and a unique implicit threshold to evaluate the impact of El Salvador’s CCT program Comunidades Solidarias Rurales on a range of maternal and reproductive health outcomes: (1) prenatal care, (2) skilled attendance at birth, (3) birth in a health facility, and (4) postnatal care, using data collected by the International Food Policy Research Institute and its collaborators from women who entered the program in 2006 and 2007. Results indicate that robust impacts are found on outcomes at time of birth (skilled attendance and birth in facility), while no impacts are found on healthseeking behavior pre- and postbirth (prenatal and postnatal care). Potential impact pathways as well as the implications of these findings for program design are discussed in the conclusion.

Author:  de Brauw, Alan Peterman, Amber

Publisher: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Access it here

Publication: IFPRI 2020 Brief on ‘Gender: A key dimension linking agricultural programs to improved nutrition and health’

Improving the livelihoods and well-being of the rural poor is an important aim of agricultural development, promoted through agricultural intensification and commercialization strategies. But improved agricultural productivity does not necessarily translate into improved health and nutrition, either for producers or consumers. How can standard agricultural development strategies—promoting agricultural intensification, greater linkages to markets, and high-value production—also create positive impacts on health and nutrition? This brief argues that a key element linking these programs to improved outcomes is the dimension of gender roles and gender equity.

Access it here

 

Publication: “Supply Shocks and Gender Bias in Child Health Investments: Evidence from the ICDS Programme in India,”

Chakravarty, Abhishek (2010) The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy: Vol. 10 : Iss. 1 (Topics), Article 88.

This paper examines whether a permanent increase in the supply of immunisations reduces or intensifies the gender bias in immunisation against female children in India. It also investigates the effect of duration of exposure to the supply shock on gender bias. The variation in the implementation of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme across both regions and time is exploited for the analysis. Estimations use data from the 2005-06 Measure DHS survey in India. We find that the increased supply of vaccinations due to the programme initially increases the gender inequality in immunisation but that this increase disappears over time. Our results indicate that the programme has saved approximately 1.72-1.84 million children, of which about 70% are boys.

Available at: http://www.bepress.com/bejeap/vol10/iss1/art88

News: UN Foundation Commits $400 Million to Support Maternal, Child Health

UN Foundation Commits $400 Million to Support Maternal, Child Health
Together with UN agencies and partner organizations, the UN Foundation will seek to address global health priorities, including childhood immunizations, malaria prevention, clean cooking solutions, and access to reproductive health services…. More»

News: Educating Women Saves Children, Study Finds

LONDON (AP) — Giving young women an education resulted in saving the lives of more than four million children worldwide in 2009, according to a new study published Friday. American researchers analyzed 915 censuses and surveys from 175 countries tracking education, economic growth, H.I.V. infection rates and child deaths from 1970 to 2009. By using statistical models, the researchers found that for every extra year of education women had, the death rate for children under 5 dropped by almost 10 percent. They estimated that 4.2 million fewer children died in 2009 than in 1970 because women of child-bearing age in developing countries were more educated. In 1970, women in developing countries ages 18 to 44 had attended about two years of school. In 2009, it was about seven years. The study was paid for by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and was published Friday in the London-based medical publication Lancet.

News: Hilary Clinton on the new GHI, August 16th

“Second, we are focusing on the needs and contributions of women and girls, who are still frequently overlooked and underserved by health professionals who don’t notice their suffering or hear their concerns. Our commitment to promoting the health of women and girls is, of course, for their sake, but also for the sake of their families and communities. Because when a woman’s health suffers, her family suffers and then there is a ripple effect throughout a village as well. But when women are healthy, the benefits are similarly broad.

Too often, the social, economic, and cultural factors that restrict their access to health services—such as gender-based violence, child marriage, female genital mutilation, lack of education, lack of access to economic opportunity, and other forms of discrimination—remain unacknowledged and unaddressed. We are linking our health programs to our broader development efforts to address those underlying political, economic, social, and gender problems. And we’re working with governments, civil society groups, and individuals to make sure that the needs of women and girls are recognized as critical not only by us, but by the health ministers, the people at the grassroots who administer care every day, that they are taken into account in the budgets and the planning of finance ministries, prime ministers, and presidents.”

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/08/146002.htm

Consultation: DFID reproductive, maternal and newborn health

DfID has launched an open consultation on reproductive, maternal and newborn health to inform their future work in this area. Improving reproductive, maternal and newborn health in the developing world is a major priority for the British government. DfID would like to hear from people in the UK and around the world – to help them understand different viewpoints, how the issues might vary between countries, and how DfID could work better with partners. Visit www.dfid.gov.uk/choiceforwomen to participate in the discussions.

Event (NY): National Council for Research on Women Annual Conference

Last Chance to Register for the NCRW 2010 Annual Conference!

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER!!!  Join NCRW and the US National Committee for UNIFEM at our Annual Conference 2010, June 11-12  Hunter College, CUNY, West Building, New York City

Strategic Imperatives for Ending Violence against Women: Linkages to Education, Economic Security and Health

Event (DC): Frontline Innovations in Maternal Health Care: Meeting Africa’s Urgent Need for Skilled Midwifery and Fistula Repair

The International Center for Research on Women and AMREF are pleased to present a seminar on

The provision of effective maternal health care has very clear health system requirements. The first is that community health care facilities must function and provide the basic services that save mother and newborn lives, including skilled staff, essential commodities and regular supervision from the district level. The second is linkages to a functioning referral system to ensure that women get appropriate care in the event of complications.

AMREF’s recent review and extensive experience supporting management of health services in East Africa indicate that these elements are not yet adequately addressed in existing health systems. In response, AMREF has crafted three strategies to address this urgent need: working with government to revitalize community health centers, creating virtual approaches for upgrading the skills of nurses and midwives, and strengthening regional capacity for the treatment of fistula. Speakers will discuss the response focusing on this strategic approach.

When:
Thursday, June 10, 2010, 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Where:
International Center for Research on Women
1120 20th St N.W., Suite 500 North
Washington, D.C. 20036

Speakers:
Dr. John Nduba, director, reproductive and child health, AMREF
Ms. Angela Nguku, coordinator, virtual nursing training school, AMREF
Dr. Weston Khisa, project manager, regional fistula repair project, AMREF

Please RSVP to Sherla Allen, sallen@icrw.org by Tuesday, June 8.

Multimedia: Women Deliver Conference Live Webstream

Women Deliver 2010, a global conference, will be held in Washington DC on June 7-9, 2010. The theme of the conference is: “Delivering solutions for girls and women,” and we plan to focus on political, economic, social/cultural, and technological solutions. This global meeting will expand on Women Deliver’s hallmark of inclusivity, reaching out to new partners and new communities. With all these partners in one room, we will further prove that maternal and reproductive health is a global priority. Women Deliver 2010 will move the dialogue to the global arena with two strong messages:

• The MDGs will not be achieved without investing in women.
• There is just enough time, if the world commits funding now, to achieve MDG5 — additional US$10 billion annually by 2010 and US$20 billion by 2015.

Access the webcast here