Context Previous studies have identified positive relationships between geographic proximity to family planning services and contraceptive use but have not accounted for the effect of contraceptive supply reliability or the diminishing influence of facility access as distance increases. Methods We used kernel density estimation to geographically link a woman’s use of injectable contraceptives and demand for birth spacing/limiting in Malawi with routine contraceptive logistics data from family planning service delivery points. Using linear probability models, we estimated the associations between access to services, measured by distance alone and distance adjusted by supply reliability, and injectable use and demand for birth spacing or limiting in rural and urban environments. Results Access to services is an important predictor of injectable use. Women in rural communities with the most access by both measures were over 7 percentage points more likely to report injectable use than women with the least access. In urban environments, women with more reliable contraceptive supplies reported up to 18.3 percentage points higher demand for birth spacing or limiting than women with the least distance-and-supply access. Conclusions Our findings highlight the importance of product availability in the local service environment, and its relationship with demand for and use of family planning. Constructing facility service environments using kernel density estimation provides a refined means of linking women with services that takes into account distance decay and supply reliability. Distinct urban and rural results highlight the importance of considering both urban and rural service environments when working to improve modern contraceptive use.

A spatial analysis of facility accessibility, taking into account road networks and environmental constraints on travel, suggests that the Saving Mothers, Giving Life (SMGL) initiative increased access to emergency obstetric and neonatal care in SMGL-supported districts in Uganda. Spatial travel-time analyses can inform policy and program efforts targeting underserved populations in conjunction with the geographic distribution of maternity services.

This correspondence argues and offers recommendations for how Geographic Information System (GIS) applied to maternal and newborn health data could potentially be used as part of the broader efforts for ending preventable maternal and newborn mortality. These recommendations were generated from a technical consultation on reporting and mapping maternal deaths that was held in Washington, DC from January 12 to 13, 2015 and hosted by the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) global Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP). Approximately 72 participants from over 25 global health organizations, government agencies, donors, universities, and other groups participated in the meeting.The meeting placed emphases on how improved use of mapping could contribute to the post-2015 United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), agenda in general and to contribute to better maternal and neonatal health outcomes in particular. Researchers and policy makers have been calling for more equitable improvement in Maternal and Newborn Health (MNH), specifically addressing hard-to-reach populations at sub-national levels. Data visualization using mapping and geospatial analyses play a significant role in addressing the emerging need for improved spatial investigation at subnational scale. This correspondence identifies key challenges and recommendations so GIS may be better applied to maternal health programs in resource poor settings. The challenges and recommendations are broadly grouped into three categories: ancillary geospatial and MNH data sources, technical and human resources needs and community participation.

Overall, the Saving Mothers, Giving Life partnership was praised as a successful model for interagency coordination. Key strengths included diversity in partner expertise, high-quality monitoring and evaluation, strong leadership, and country ownership. Uncertainty about partner roles and responsibilities, perceived power inequities between partners, bureaucratic processes, and limited Ministry of Health representation in the governance structure were some challenges that, if addressed by similar public-private partnerships under development, may improve long-term partnership success.

Three models showed strong correlation between public-sector logistics data for injectables, oral contraceptives, and condoms and their prevalence rates, demonstrating that current logistics data can provide useful prevalence estimates when timely survey data are unavailable.