Improving Maternal and Child Health in Difficult Environments: The Case For “Cross-Border” Health Care

摘要

The evidence base on organising, delivering, and paying for effective and equitable health services in any resource-constrained setting is very weak [1]. To make health service delivery work in difficult environments, such as Badakhshan province in Afghanistan, the Northern Areas of Pakistan, and Gorno-Badakhshan province in Tajikistan, substantial challenges must be addressed because each has to overcome one or more “traps” of bad governance, emerging from civil war, and/or being landlocked [2]. To improve maternal and child health (MCH), emphasis must be given to strengthening health systems, increasing access to information and care, and addressing the related community and development issues [3].