Erosion of the capital city advantage in child survival and reproductive, maternal, newborn and child Health intervention coverage in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

The place of residence is a major determinant of RMNCH outcomes, with rural areas often lagging in sub-Saharan Africa. This long-held pattern may be changing given differential progress across areas and increasing urbanization. We assessed inequalities in child mortality and RMNCH coverage across capital cities, other urban and rural areas. We analyzed mortality data from 162 DHS and MICS in 39 countries with the most recent survey conducted between 1990 and 2020, and RMNCH coverage data from 39 countries. We assessed inequality trends in neonatal and under-five mortality and in RMNCH coverage using multilevel linear regression models. Under-five mortality and RMNCH service coverage inequalities by place of residence have reduced substantially in sub-Saharan Africa, with rural areas experiencing faster progress than other areas. The absolute gap in child mortality between rural areas and capital cities, and that between rural and other urban areas reduced respectively from 41 and 26 deaths per 1000 live births in 2000 to 23 and 15 by 2015. Capital cities are losing their primacy in child survival and RMNCH coverage over other urban areas and rural areas, especially in Eastern Africa where under-five mortality gap between capital cities and rural areas closed almost completely by 2015. While child mortality and RMNCH coverage inequalities are closing rapidly by place of residence; slow trends in capital cities and urban areas suggest gradual erosion of capital city and urban health advantage. Monitoring child mortality and RMNCH coverage trends in urban areas, especially among the urban poor, and addressing factors of within urban inequalities are urgently needed.

Inequalities and trends in under-five mortality between formal and informal settlements in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

“…Beyond these few limits, this article revives the debates on health inequalities according to the socio-economic gradient in cities of developing countries in general. On the one hand, the health disadvantage of the poor persists in most African capitals and seems to contribute precisely to the erosion of the urban advantage in terms of health compared to the rural world (Amouzou et al, 2023). Of the other part, the example of cities such as Ouagadougou suggests a rapid decline in mortality in the city due to a convergence of mortality levels between spontaneous habitats and formal neighbourhoods adequate policies for the benefit of the poorest could accelerate the transition of mortality in cities in countries in the Netherlands development pathway and thus contribute to the achievement of SDG target 3.2 to reduce preventable deaths among newborns and children under five in general.…”