Global Disease Outbreaks and Effects on Maternal, Newborn & Child Health in Global South, a Systematic Review

Background/Aim: The world has witnessed several disease outbreaks both in the past and in recent times. Apart from loss of lives as a result of such outbreaks, there are also disruptions in health care provision and utilization due to certain measures aimed at curtailing the spread of such outbreaks. This study aimed to seek evidence from existing literature on the effects of disease outbreaks on maternal, newborn and child health care in Global South.

Methods: A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) was used and 14 literatures met the inclusion criteria.

Results: HIV/AIDS pandemic affected the Maternal Newborn and Child Health since increased cases of anaemia, hospital admissions, still births in HIV positive pregnant and cases of foetal anaemia reported in infants born from HIV positive pregnant women were reported. No COVID-19 pandemic related-effects on MNCH observed since no maternal deaths and transmission from infected pregnant women to their newborns reported. Indirect effects of pandemics on MNHC include reduced service delivery and demand/utilization as well as inaccessibility due to diverse reasons.

Discussion: The Government should put in place palliative measures for low-income citizens; engage and sensitize women, pregnant women and their children on available health care services and mitigation measures in place to access with minimal or no risk of being infected in a secure environment.