Estimating the Impact of Maternal Health Services on Maternal Mortality in Uganda

Lori Bollinger, Futures Group International
Robert Basaza, Ministry of Health, Uganda
Chris Mugarura, Ministry of Health, Uganda
John Ross, Futures Group International
Koki Agarwal, Futures Group International

Each year, over 500,000 women die of causes relating to pregnancy and childbirth. Many of these deaths could be prevented through appropriately targeted interventions. The Safe Motherhood (SM) model combines information from the Maternal-Neonatal Program Index and WHO's Mother-Baby Package to estimate the impact of increased expenditures on the maternal mortality rate. These models have been applied in Uganda, through collaboration with the Population Secretariat, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, and the Futures Group/USAID. Since Uganda operates a decentralized system of service delivery, data collection had to take place at the district and lower level units. Data on district-level service delivery costs were supplemented by national level data for certain variables. Preliminary results from the Safe Motherhood model indicate that, if an 'Ideal' budget were fully funded, the MMR in Uganda would decline from its current level of 505 to a more acceptable 71 per 100,000 women.