Dependency Theory: An Evaluation of the Period-Based Changes in the Utilization of Maternal Health Care and Neonatal Mortality in Tanzania Between 1991 and 2016

Abstract

While efforts have been made to increase maternal health care (MHC) utilization and decrease neonatal mortality in Tanzania, much remains to be known about the effect of dependency (particularly on reproductive policy changes) on the use of MHC and neonatal health over time among varying socioeconomic groups. This study applied dependency theory to cross-sectional secondary data (collected by the Tanzania Demographic Health Surveys between 1991 and 2016) to investigate period-based changes in MHC and neonatal mortalities in Tanzania. Results from the data analysis found that while neonatal mortalities were decreasing in Tanzania (from 1991 to 2016), the odds of neonatal mortality were still greater in 2016. Also, a decline in the recommended skilled delivery assistance and 4 + antenatal care visits occurred in the data period. A significant increase in socioeconomic inequality around MHC use and neonatal mortality occurred during the study period as well. Policy recommendations to reduce these inequalities and move toward meeting Sustainability Development Goals for maternal and neonatal health in Tanzania are discussed.

Editorial: Information and communication technologies (ICT): enabling resilience in the face of climate change in a COVID-19-impacted world

“…Investigating pathways for climate resilience in rural Kenya, Ngare et al find that despite otherwise welldrafted national policies for climate-change mitigation, "very little of this information has been disseminated to the general public, " especially in rural areas. This reflects colonial and post-colonial historical patterns that disadvantage rural and global "peripheries" compared to urban and "core" areas (Langa, 2023). Positioning the impacts of COVID-19 and worsening climate change impacts within their global contexts, the authors address the many familiar challenges facing African countries from those impacts, especially highlighting that "Africa contributes <5% of the greenhouse gases responsible for climate change, but it is the most vulnerable continent to the consequences."…”