Impact of COVID-19 on utilization of maternal, newborn and child health services in Nigeria: protocol for a country-level mixed-methods study

About this activity

The Sustainable Development Goals agenda is part of the global efforts to improve maternal, new-born and child health (MNCH) by challenging countries to make efforts to reduce the global burden of maternal, new-born and child mortality. In Nigeria, MNCH outcomes have improved over the last decade. However, these outcomes are still rated as being among the worst in the world. In order to improve child survival and maternal health, the continuum of care for MNCH was designed and this has gained so much attention because it is expected to reduce the burden of maternal deaths, neonatal deaths and deaths among under-5 children particularly in lower and middle-income countries. Low utilization of MNCH services can be categorized into two major factors, which are the user factor and the health system factor. The user factor includes distance to a health facility, cultural beliefs and practices, economic factors and many other factors within the community and respective households. On the othe... Objectives Course Objective Battling with COVID-19 and providing essential services along the continuum of care could be challenging. This study will evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on utilization of maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) services in Nigeria and explore the barriers being experienced by women and their families in getting access to MNCH services, as well as other contextual factors that may have shaped the utilization of MNCH services during the COVID-19 pandemic.