Pan American Health Organization - PAHO/WHO
Area of Health Systems Strengthening -  Health Policies and Systems Unit - 2007

Available line PDF [177p.] at:  http://www.lachealthsys.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=386

“…….The availability of comprehensive reproductive and child health care remains an unrealized goal in most of the world, and some countries have actually experienced stagnation or even reversals in their maternal and child health indicators (WHO, 2005). This reality has prompted policymakers and international cooperation agencies to focus on the implementation of different mother, newborn and child health protection schemes in order to improve access to care for these populations.

Although the impact of many of these interventions on health processes and outcomes is well-documented in the LAC Region, further comparative analysis is needed to identify lessons learned and to understand the role these interventions play in the broader institutional setting of existing health systems and their relationship with social determinants of health such as socio-economic status, gender, and ethnicity.

A cross-sectional descriptive analysis based on a literature/internet review and secondary sources was carried out. Seven social protection health schemes were analyzed.

This report argues that the improvement of mother, newborn, and child health can only be achieved through a holistic approach, combining interventions that address social, economic, cultural, age related and ethnic barriers to accessing health care. This multifaceted approach must be based on a long-term societal and political agreement…..”