THE GLOBAL REPERCUSSIONS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE AVAILABILITY AND DELIVERY OF MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTHCARE SERVICES

Babar Tasneem Shaikh; Muhammad Ahmed Abdullah; Nargis Yousaf Sattar; Waleed Qaisar Shaikh

doi:10.46903/gjms/23.4.1759

THE GLOBAL REPERCUSSIONS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE AVAILABILITY AND DELIVERY OF MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTHCARE SERVICES

Babar Tasneem Shaikh, Muhammad Ahmed Abdullah, Nargis Yousaf Sattar, Waleed Qaisar Shaikh

Abstract

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child healthcare services, and its subsequent effects on pregnancy outcomes, is complex. The pandemic posed an unparalleled challenge, especially to essential maternal and child health services in resource-limited countries. This review seeks to examine how the pandemic has affected the accessibility and delivery of these services globally, with a focus on resource-constrained settings. Our review identified a significant decline in several key areas, including family planning visits, antenatal and postnatal care, pediatric consultations, emergency visits, and child immunization rates compared to pre-pandemic levels. The literature points to issues such as uncertainty, overwhelmed healthcare systems, challenges for healthcare workers, and barriers for service users. Overall, our findings indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted essential healthcare services for mothers and children, highlighting the need for attention to all health system components. Further systematic research and meta-analyses are necessary to fully understand the pandemic’s impact on women and children, helping policymakers and healthcare managers improve system preparedness for future challenges. The COVID-19 crisis has underscored the need to reconfigure health systems, which could help build resilience, particularly in low-resource settings.

Keywords

COVID-19; Developing countries; Health system; Maternal; Newborn and child healthcare services.

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References

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.46903/gjms/23.4.1759