Community Level Risk Factors for Maternal Mortality in Madagascar

Abstract

This paper explores the effect of risk and socioeconomic factors on maternal mortality at the community level in Madagascar using a unique, nationwide panel of communes (i.e., counties). Previous work in this area uses individual or cross-country data to study maternal mortality, however, studying maternal mortality at the community level is imperative because this is the level at which most policy is implemented. The results show that longer travel time from the community to the hospital leads to a high level of maternal mortality. The findings suggest that improvement to transportation systems and access to hospitals with surgery rooms are needed to deal with obstetric complications and reduce maternal mortality.

Keywords: Maternal Mortality, Health Risks, Health Inputs.

(Afr J Reprod Health 2013; 17[4]: 118-129)