Question

What were the main issues involved in the case study Saving Mothers' Lives in Sri Lanka

Answer 1

The main issues involved in the case study Saving Mothers' Lives in Sri Lanka include; the reducing maternal deaths in Sri Lanka attributed to widespread access to maternal health care, built upon:

• a strong health system providing free services to the entire population, including in the rural areas;
• the professionalization and broad use of midwives;
• the systematic use of health information for identifying the problems and guide decision-making; and
• Targeted quality improvements to vulnerable groups.

Thus Sri Lanka despite of spending less on health has achieved far more - than most of the countries at similar income levels for example, in India the maternal mortality ratio is more than 400 per 100,000 live births, and spending on health constitutes over 5 percent of GNP while in Sri Lanka, the ratio is less than one-quarter of that, and the country spends only 3 percent of GNP on health.