Type | Working Paper - Social Statistics Research Centre, University of Southampton: Applications and Policy Working Paper |
Title | The inequality of maternal health in urban sub-Saharan Africa |
Author(s) | |
Publication (Day/Month/Year) | 2003 |
URL | http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/8136/1/8136-01.pdf |
Abstract | Numerous studies document the urban poor disadvantage in child health conditions in African cities. This study uses DHS data from 23 countries in sub-Saharan Africa to examine whether the urban poor experience comparable disadvantages in maternal health. The results show that although the urban poor on average receive better antenatal and delivery care than rural residents, they consistently have poorer maternal health indicators than the urban nonpoor. Further analyses based on a multilevel approach reveal significant variations in urban maternal health inequalities across countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The urban poor disadvantage is more pronounced in countries with better average maternal health indicators, where the urban poor tend to be even worse off than rural residents. |