The role of the health system in women’s utilisation of maternal health services in Sudan

Ibrahim Ghada, City University London

Maternal mortality and morbidity still pose a significant challenge to policy makers and health professionals. No significant improvements in maternal indicators have been achieved in Sudan. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the poor reproductive health system performance as well as understand better the barriers of utilization of perinatal health services. Mixed methods applied using data coming from two national representative surveys, Sudan Household health Survey in 2006 and 2010 and primary qualitative data of a sample of 9 FGDs with perinatal users/ non users and village midwifes, as well as 31 in-depth interviews with decision makers, stakeholders, and health providers. Framework analysis and multilevel regression models were applied to assess the different ways in which health system elements can shape maternal health. Preliminary results indicate that there are chronic problems in the Sudanese health system that affected the quality and availability of maternal health services.