A recent study presents the Maternal and Newborn Health Composite Indicator (MNHci), a novel tool designed to measure the co-coverage of essential maternal and newborn health (MNH) interventions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Using national survey data from 97 LMICs, the study examined the distribution of the MNHci, its association with neonatal and post-neonatal mortality, and socioeconomic inequalities based on household wealth and place of residence.

The MNHci is based on three key interventions: at least four antenatal care visits, institutional delivery, and postnatal care for the woman or baby within two days of delivery. The MNHci assigns one point per intervention received, ranging from zero (none) to three (all). The findings reveal significant socioeconomic disparities, with higher MNH coverage among those woman-baby dyads belonging to the wealthiest households and living in urban areas.

Crucially, the MNHci showed a strong inverse correlation with neonatal and post neonatal mortality, confirming its potential as an effective monitoring tool. Countries with higher MNHci scores had significantly lower mortality rates. Results also indicated a positive effect of the MNHci on the neonatal mortality, indicating a 47% reduction in neonatal mortality (adjusted IR=0.57; 95% CI=0.38-0.83) when woman-baby dyads received all interventions compared to none, after adjusting for key sociodemographic factors. These findings reinforce the need for targeted interventions to improve healthcare access among underserved populations

By providing a simple, reliable, and policy-relevant measure, the MNHci serves as a valuable tool for tracking progress and identifying challenges in essential MNH intervention coverage. Its implementation can support LMICs in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and advancing maternal and newborn health equity.

This paper has already been published in preprint format: SSRN