Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders in infancy, one that frequently necessitates abdominal surgery. While in wealthier countries such operations are fairly routine and only rarely involve complications, in resource-poor settings the disorder can prove fatal for infants due to the lack of neonatal and pediatric surgeons in [...]

In Mozambique neonatal mortality is 34 neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births, accounting for approximately 35% of under-5 deaths. Around 25% of these neonatal deaths is linked to delivery-related events, in particular breathing problems. Indeed, the intervention of health care personnel is required when newborns are unable to breathe spontaneously, but in lower-income countries health [...]

The use of spatial and geographic models such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS) was integrated into this study, whose aim was to assess the coverage of health care centers offering obstetric services in two rural areas of Tanzania, the Iringa and Ludewa Districts. Both areas have a high density of health care facilities. However, the [...]

Ethiopia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world (676 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births) and is one of the ten countries in the world that comprise 58% of global maternal deaths. Problems of coverage are certainly among the factors contributing to this dire mortality rate. Indeed, pregnant women’s failure to [...]

The performance of a health care system can be measured by three parameters: the coverage, equity and quality of health care services. In Sub-Saharan Africa there are still major problems in each of these areas which prevent the respective countries from achieving the Millennium Development Goals related to maternal and neonatal health. The objective of [...]