Guidelines for Estimating National Coverage of Interventions for Maternal and Newborn Health

Publish Date: April 2014
Author: MCHIP
Language: English, French

MCHIP developed a rapid estimation methodology that attempts to address the lack of national coverage data for key maternal and newborn health (MNH) interventions. The methodology has been tailored to measure the following interventions:

• Use of uterotonic (oxytocin or misoprostol) for PPH;
• Use of magnesium sulfate for SPE/E;
• Application of chlorhexidine for umbilical cord care; and
• Administration of antenatal corticosteroids (dexamethasone) for threatened preterm birth.

The methodology involves gathering existing country-level data on these interventions from various sources which, independently, don’t measure coverage for the whole population, and then convening a panel of country experts in MNH service delivery, program management, measurement, and commodities to review the information that does exist, use the Delphi method to approximate data that is limited or lacking, and apply an algorithm to generate an estimate of national coverage for each of the interventions.

The goal of this exercise is to identify coverage gaps—where and why women and babies are not receiving these services—to help promote programs and policies that will achieve broader coverage for the country as a whole.