Women’s Dignity research and policy analysis builds evidence on health equity, maternal health and fistula. Findings are shared broadly so that policies, programs and service delivery are better able to address the health and dignity of marginalized people, particularly girls and women. Our research focuses on health equity, maternal health, and fistula.

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Highlights of Women's Dignity Research

Fair’s Fair: Health Inequalities and Equity in Tanzania describes inequalities in health status and health care, and sheds light on factors underlying these disparities. Fair’s Fair found that cost, distance to facilities, quality of care and social barriers are key constraints that poor people face in accessing health services. In addition, significant disparities in health status and care persist across different regions of the country.

Several strategies are outlined to improve health equity and ensure that available resources are efficiently directed to people most in need:

• New health infrastructure needs to strongly target the most under-served areas so rural people receive better access to services that are normally only available at hospitals.
• New hiring and deployment strategies for medical professionals are required to overcome the acute shortages of staff in remote districts.
• An incentive package to motivate health workers to serve in disadvantaged areas would represent one of the most important “pro-poor” changes for improving access to quality health care.
• Emergency obstetric care services need to be expanded down to the health centre level, with priority to under-served regions of the country.

Risk and Resilience: Obstetric Fistula in Tanzania and Sharing the Burden: Ugandan Women Speak About Obstetric Fistula examine the many dimensions of fistula and its related social vulnerability through interviews with 137 Tanzanian and Ugandan women with fistula, as well as members of their families and communities, and local health care providers. By examining the perspectives and experiences of girls and women living with the condition, vital evidence was gained on constraints as well as opportunities within social and health systems to prevent and manage fistula.

The reports of the two country studies assert that high-level political commitment, effective allocation of resources, deployment of skilled personnel, and strong improvements in maternal health services are all urgently needed to reduce maternal death and disability in Tanzania and Uganda, including obstetric fistula.

Read Stories from Women Living with Fistula