Disaggregating progress towards universal health care by region in Africa: studying inequalities in maternal health

Amos R. Channon, University of Southampton
Sarah Neal, University of Southampton
Sarah A. Carter, University of Southampton

Both the post-2015 development agenda and the drive towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) have a strong equity focus. The WHO have proposed a framework for monitoring global progress towards UHC - by 2030, all populations, independent of wealth or place of residence, should have at least 80% essential health services coverage. This paper examines the progress towards this target within 21 countries in Africa, disaggregating by region and using the presence of a skilled attendant at birth as the maternal health indicator. Using Demographic and Health Survey data the equity gap by wealth is calculated for regions within each country. Results indicate that those regions with currently very low coverage are required to make rapid and sustained progress far in advance of the progress currently seen. Policies in countries where large improvements have been observed are studied.