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A strategic approach to social accountability: Bwalo forums within the reproductive maternal and child health accountability ecosystem in Malawi.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The majority of documented social accountability initiatives to date have been 'tactical' in nature, employing single-tool, mostly community-based approaches. This article provides lessons from a 'strategic', multi-tool, multi-level social accountability project: UNICEF's 'Social Accountability for Every Woman Every Child' intervention in Malawi. METHODS:The project targeted the national, district and community levels. Three Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) were engaged to carry out interventions using various tools to generate evidence and political advocacy at one or more levels. This article focuses on one of the social accountability methods - the bwalo forum (a meeting based on a traditional Malawian method of dialogue). A detailed political economy analysis was conducted by one of the co-authors using qualitative methods including interviews and group discussions. The authors conducted in-country consultations and analysed secondary data provided by the CSOs. RESULTS:The political economy analysis highlighted several ways in which CSO partners should modify their work plans to be more compatible with the project context. This included shifting the advocacy and support focus, as well as significantly expanding the bwalo forums. Bwalos were found to be an important platform for allowing citizens to engage with duty bearers at the community and district levels, and enabled a number of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health issues to be resolved at those levels. The project also enabled learning around participant responses as intermediate project outcomes. CONCLUSIONS:The project utilised various tools to gather data, elevate community voices, and facilitate engagement between citizen and state actors at the community, district and national levels. This provided the scaffolding for numerous issues to be resolved at the community or district levels, or referred to the national level. Bwalo forums were found to be highly effective as a space for inter-level engagement between citizens and state; however, as they were not embedded in existing local structures, their potential for sustainability and scalability was tenuous. A key strength of the project was the political economy analysis, which provided direction for partners to shape their interventions according to local and national realities and be sensitive to the barriers and drivers to positive action.

SUBMITTER: Butler N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7310083 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A strategic approach to social accountability: Bwalo forums within the reproductive maternal and child health accountability ecosystem in Malawi.

Butler Nadia N Johnson Ginger G Chiweza Asiyati A Aung Kyaw Myint KM Quinley John J Rogers Katherine K Bedford Juliet J

BMC health services research 20200622 1

<h4>Background</h4>The majority of documented social accountability initiatives to date have been 'tactical' in nature, employing single-tool, mostly community-based approaches. This article provides lessons from a 'strategic', multi-tool, multi-level social accountability project: UNICEF's 'Social Accountability for Every Woman Every Child' intervention in Malawi.<h4>Methods</h4>The project targeted the national, district and community levels. Three Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) were engag ...[more]

PMID: 32571301

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Project description:Globally, increasing efforts have been made to hold duty-bearers to account for their commitments to improve reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) over the past two decades, including via social accountability approaches: citizen-led, collective processes for holding duty-bearers to account. There have been many individual studies and several reviews of social accountability approaches but the implications of their findings to inform future accountability efforts are not clear. We addressed this gap by conducting a review of reviews in order to summarise the current evidence on social accountability for RMNCAH, identify factors contributing to intermediary outcomes and health impacts, and identify future research and implementation priorities. The review was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO CRD42019134340). We searched eight databases and systematic review repositories and sought expert recommendations for published and unpublished reviews, with no date or language restrictions. Six reviews were analysed using narrative synthesis: four on accountability or social accountability approaches for RMNCAH, and two specifically examining perinatal mortality audits, from which we extracted information relating to community involvement in audits. Our findings confirmed that there is extensive and growing evidence for social accountability approaches, particularly community monitoring interventions. Few documented social accountability approaches to RMNCAH achieve transformational change by going beyond information-gathering and awareness-raising, and attention to marginalised and vulnerable groups, including adolescents, has not been well documented. Drawing generalisable conclusions about results was difficult, due to inconsistent nomenclature and gaps in reporting, particularly regarding objectives, contexts, and health impacts. Promising approaches for successful social accountability initiatives include careful tailoring to the social and political context, strategic planning, and multi-sectoral/multi-stakeholder approaches. Future primary research could advance the evidence by describing interventions and their results in detail and in their contexts, focusing on factors and processes affecting acceptability, adoption, and effectiveness.

Project description:BackgroundSocial accountability approaches, which emphasize mutual responsibility and accountability by community members, health care workers, and local health officials for improving health outcomes in the community, are increasingly being employed in low-resource settings. We evaluated the effects of a social accountability approach, CARE's Community Score Card (CSC), on reproductive health outcomes in Ntcheu district, Malawi using a cluster-randomized control design.MethodsWe matched 10 pairs of communities, randomly assigning one from each pair to intervention and control arms. We conducted two independent cross-sectional surveys of women who had given birth in the last 12 months, at baseline and at two years post-baseline. Using difference-in-difference (DiD) and local average treatment effect (LATE) estimates, we evaluated the effects on outcomes including modern contraceptive use, antenatal and postnatal care service utilization, and service satisfaction. We also evaluated changes in indicators developed by community members and service providers in the intervention areas.ResultsDiD analyses showed significantly greater improvements in the proportion of women receiving a home visit during pregnancy (B = 0.20, P < .01), receiving a postnatal visit (B = 0.06, P = .01), and overall service satisfaction (B = 0.16, P < .001) in intervention compared to control areas. LATE analyses estimated significant effects of the CSC intervention on home visits by health workers (114% higher in intervention compared to control) (B = 1.14, P < .001) and current use of modern contraceptives (57% higher) (B = 0.57, P < .01). All 13 community- and provider-developed indicators improved, with 6 of them showing significant improvements.ConclusionsBy facilitating the relationship between community members, health service providers, and local government officials, the CSC contributed to important improvements in reproductive health-related outcomes. Further, the CSC builds mutual accountability, and ensures that solutions to problems are locally-relevant, locally-supported and feasible to implement.

Project description:BackgroundThis paper aims to provide insights into the role of traditional authorities in two maternal health programmes in Northern Malawi. Among strategies to improve maternal health, these authorities issue by-laws: local rules to increase the uptake of antenatal and delivery care. The study uses a framework of gendered institutions to critically assess the by-law content, process and effects and to understand how responsibilities and accountabilities are constructed, negotiated and reversed.MethodsFindings are based on a qualitative study in five health centre catchment areas in Northern Malawi. Data were collected using meeting observations and document search, 36 semi-structured individual interviews and 19 focus group discussions with female maternal health service users, male community members, health workers, traditional leaders, local officials and health committee members. A gender and power sensitive thematic analysis was performed focusing on the formulation, interpretation and implementation process of the by-laws as well as its effects on women and men.ResultsIn the study district, traditional leaders introduced three by-laws that oblige pregnant women to attend antenatal care; bring their husbands along and; and to give birth in a health centre. If women fail to comply with these rules, they risk being fined or denied access to maternal health services. The findings show that responsibilities and accountabilities are negotiated and that by-laws are not uniformly applied. Whereas local officials support the by-laws, lower level health cadres' and some community members contest them, in particular, the principles of individual responsibility and universality.ConclusionsThe study adds new evidence on the understudied phenomenon of by-laws. From a gender perspective, the by-laws are problematic as they individualise the responsibility for maternal health care and discriminate against women in the definition and application of sanctions. Through the by-laws, supported by national policies and international institutions, women bear the full responsibility for failures in maternal health care, suggesting a form of 'reversed accountability' of women towards global maternal health goals. This can negatively impact on women's reproductive health rights and obstruct ambitions to achieve gender inequality and health equity. Contextualised gender and power analysis in health policymaking and programming as well as in accountability reforms could help to identify these challenges and potential unintended effects.

Project description:BackgroundSocial accountability approaches, such as the community scorecard (CSC), can improve the performance of health systems in low-income countries by providing a mechanism for obtaining and incorporating community input. This longitudinal study assessed the effects of CSCs implemented by primary health care units (PHCUs) on health system performance in Ethiopia.MethodsThis study used a pre-post design and was conducted from October 2018 to September 2019 in 159 PHCUs in 31 districts in Amhara and Southern, Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' regional states. The data were extracted from a routine health information management system database at baseline, midterm, and endline stages over 12 months for statistical analysis. The effects of implementing CSCs on health system performance were evaluated against selected key performance indicators (KPIs).ResultsThe CSC measurement results were based on input from 38,556 community representatives. The mean CSC score with standard deviation (±SD) was 60.8%±12.5%, 66.3%±10.8%, and 70.6%±10.0% at baseline, midterm, and endline, respectively. The mean KPI score was 54.9%±17.4%, 61.9%±15.1%, and 67.6%±14.6% at baseline, midterm, and endline, respectively. The average CSC and KPI values were positively correlated (r>0.37). Using a nonparametric Friedman's test, we found a statistically significant difference in CSC and KPI scores at baseline, midterm, and endline (P=.001). Post hoc analysis with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests was conducted with a Bonferroni correction and the results showed higher CSC and KPI values from baseline to midterm and from midterm to endline (P<.017).ConclusionsThe use of CSCs in Ethiopia contributed to the health system's performance in terms of maternal and child health services. The responsiveness of health workers and utilization of basic health services by community members were found to increase significantly with CSC use. We recommend continued implementation of the CSC intervention at PHCUs.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Gut microbiota composition is associated with child health, but the effect of the environment on microbiota composition is not well understood. Few studies have been conducted in low-income settings where childhood malnutrition is common and possibly related to microbiota composition. OBJECTIVES:To investigate whether gut microbiota composition in young children and their mothers is associated with different environmental exposures in rural Malawi. We hypothesized that more adverse environmental exposures would be associated with lower levels of microbiota maturity and diversity. METHODS:Faecal samples from up to 631 children and mothers participating in a nutrition intervention trial were collected at 1, 6, 12, 18, and 30 months (children) and at 1 month (mothers) after birth and analysed for microbiota composition with 16S rRNA sequencing. Bacterial OTU and genus abundances, measures of microbiota maturity and diversity, and UniFrac distances were compared between participants with different environmental exposures. The exposure variables included socio-economic status, water source, sanitary facility, domestic animals, maternal characteristics, season, antibiotic use, and delivery mode. RESULTS:Measures of microbiota maturity and diversity in children were inversely associated with maternal education at 6, 18, and 30 months and did not otherwise differ consistently between participants with different environmental exposures. Phylogenetic distance was related to season of stool sample collection at all time points. At the level of individual OTUs and genera, season of stool sample collection, type of water source, and maternal education showed most associations with child gut microbiota, while HIV status was the most important predictor of relative OTU and genus abundances in mothers. CONCLUSION:The results do not support the hypothesis that adverse environmental exposures are broadly associated with lower microbiota maturity and diversity but suggest that environmental exposures influence the abundance of several bacterial OTUs and genera and that low maternal education is associated with higher microbiota maturity and diversity.

Project description:BackgroundThe persistent quality gap in maternal health services in Nepal has resulted in poor maternal health outcomes. Accordingly, the Government of Nepal (GoN) has placed emphasis on responsive and accountable maternal health services and initiated social accountability interventions as a strategical approach simultaneously. This review critically explores the social accountability interventions in maternal health services in Nepal and its outcomes by analyzing existing evidence to contribute to the informed policy formulation process.MethodsA literature review and desk study undertaken between December 2018 and May 2019. An adapted framework of social accountability by Lodenstein et al. was used for critical analysis of the existing literature between January 2000 and May 2019 from Nepal and other low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) that have similar operational context to Nepal. The literature was searched and extracted from database such as PubMed and ScienceDirect, and web search engines such as Google Scholar using defined keywords.ResultsThe study found various social accountability interventions that have been initiated by GoN and external development partners in maternal health services in Nepal. Evidence from Nepal and other LMICs showed that the social accountability interventions improved the quality of maternal health services by improving health system responsiveness, enhancing community ownership, addressing inequalities and enabling the community to influence the policy decision-making process. Strong gender norms, caste-hierarchy system, socio-political and economic context and weak enforceability mechanism in the health system are found to be the major contextual factors influencing community engagement in social accountability interventions in Nepal.ConclusionsSocial accountability interventions have potential to improve the quality of maternal health services in Nepal. The critical factor for successful outcomes in maternal health services is quality implementation of interventions. Similarly, continuous effort is needed from policymakers to strengthen monitoring and regulatory mechanism of the health system and decentralization process, to improve access to the information and to establish proper complaints and feedback system from the community to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of the interventions. Furthermore, more study needs to be conducted to evaluate the impact of the existing social accountability interventions in improving maternal health services in Nepal.

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A strategic approach to social accountability: Bwalo forums within the reproductive maternal and child health accountability ecosystem in Malawi.

Publications

A strategic approach to social accountability: Bwalo forums within the reproductive maternal and child health accountability ecosystem in Malawi.

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