Reproductive Health (Jun 2024)

The impact of a reproductive health voucher in Uganda using a quasi-experimental matching design

  • Christian Andersson,
  • Tonny Kawuki,
  • Jonas Månsson,
  • Christine Nankaja,
  • Krister Sund,
  • Emma Wigren,
  • Mathias Mulumba Zungu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-024-01812-2
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 21, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

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Abstract This study assesses the impact of a voucher project that targeted vulnerable and poor pregnant women in Uganda. Highly subsidised vouchers gave access to a package of safe delivery services consisting of four antenatal visits, safe delivery, one postnatal visit, the treatment and management of selected pregnancy-related medical conditions and complications, and emergency transport. Vouchers were sold during the project’s operational period from 2016 to 2019. This study covers 8 out of 25 project-benefiting districts in Uganda and a total of 1,881 pregnancies, including both beneficiary and non-beneficiary mothers. Using a matching design, the results show a positive effect on the survival of new-born babies. The difference in the survival rate between the control group and the treatment group is 5.4% points, indicating that the voucher project reduced infant mortality by more than 65 per cent.

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