Promoting research to improve maternal, neonatal, infant and adolescent health in West Africa: the role of the West African Health Organisation

Abstract

West Africa has adopted numerous strategies to counter maternal and infant mortality, provides national maternal and infant health programmes, and hosts many active technical and financial partners and non-governmental organisations. Despite this, maternal and infant morbidity and mortality indicators are still very high. In this commentary, internal actors and officials of the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) examine the regional organisation’s role in promoting research as a tool for strengthening maternal and infant health in West Africa.As a specialised institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) responsible for health issues, WAHO’s mission is to provide the sub-region’s population with the highest possible health standards by harmonising Member States’ policies, resource pooling, and cooperation among Member States and third countries to collectively and strategically combat the region’s health problems. To achieve this, WAHO’s main intervention strategy is that of facilitation, as this encourages the generation and use of evidence to inform decision-making and reinforce practice.WAHO’s analysis of interventions since 2000 showed that it had effected some changes in research governance, management and funding, as well as in individual and institutional capacity building, research dissemination, collaboration and exchanges between the various stakeholders. It also revealed several challenges such as process ownership, member countries’ commitment, weak individual and institutional capacity, mobilisation, and stakeholder commitment. To better strengthen evidence-based decision-making, in 2016, WAHO created a unique programme aimed at improving the production, dissemination and use of research information and results in health programme planning to ultimately improve population health.While WAHO’s experiences to date demonstrate how a regional health institution can integrate research promotion into the fight against maternal and infant mortality, the challenges the organisation has encountered also demonstrate the importance of cohesion among actors promoting such an initiative, the importance of leadership and commitment among member country actors steering the process, and the need for collaboration and coordination among all partners in member countries and in the region.

Promoting the use of evidence in health policymaking in the ECOWAS region: the development and contextualization of an evidence-based policymaking guidance

“…The Economic Commission of the West African States (ECOWAS) has over the years encouraged member states to increase investment in the health sector and through her specialised health institution, the West African Health Organization (WAHO) has supported the efforts of members States to improve health outcomes in the region [1]. The poor maternal and child health outcomes in West Africa have been shown to be associated with diverse contextual and health systems factors inherent within the sub-region.…”

“…The poor maternal and child health outcomes in West Africa have been shown to be associated with diverse contextual and health systems factors inherent within the sub-region. These factors include, culture, knowledge of risks and the status of women, geographic distance of health centres, services delivery organisation, the availability and ability of health services, and the quality of care, and these all act together to exacerbate the poor health outcomes in the region [1,2]. According to Agyepong et al [2], the West African countries are in dire need of increased investment in health interventions and health systems strengthening approaches that are evidence-based.…”

“…A number of recent studies have stressed the urgent need for increased understanding of the complexities of the evidence to policy process among policymakers in West Africa and also a need to have a guidance on evidence-based policymaking [1,2,11]. Guidance documents with specific focus on evidence-based policymaking or evidence-informed policymaking are essentially scarce.…”

Promoting the use of evidence in health policymaking in the ECOWAS region: the development and contextualization of an evidence-based policymaking guidance

“…The poor maternal and child health outcomes in West Africa have been shown to be associated with diverse contextual and health systems factors inherent within the sub-region. These factors include, culture, knowledge of risks and the status of women, geographic distance of health centres, services delivery organisation, the availability and ability of health services, and the quality of care, and these all act together to exacerbate the poor health outcomes in the region [1,2].…”

Using equitable impact sensitive tool (EQUIST) to promote implementation of evidence informed policymaking to improve maternal and child health outcomes: a focus on six West African Countries

“…Recent studies sponsored by the West African Health Organization (WAHO) report that contextual barriers such as road conditions, culture, knowledge of risks and the status of women, and health systems barriers including geographic distance of health centres, services delivery organisation, the availability and ability of health services, and the quality of care, all act together to increase maternal and child mortality in the sub-region [ 6 , 7 ]. It has been argued that any effort to improve maternal and child mortality in West Africa must not only focus on investing in interventions but more importantly on strengthening health systems and context to enable efficient and effective implementation of proven life-saving interventions [ 6 ].…”