Joy-Dorcas/KENYA-MATERNAL-CHILD-HEALTH

Maternal Child health # KENYA-MATERNAL-CHILD-HEALTH # Equity in Maternal and Child Health Services Access Across Kenyan Counties PROJECT WEBSITE- child-maternal-health.lovab… ## Problem Statement Despite significant investments in healthcare infrastructure and policy reforms, Kenya continues to face alarming disparities in maternal and child health outcomes across its 47 counties. **Kenya's maternal mortality ratio of 342 deaths per 100,000 live births remains nearly twice the global average, while under-5 mortality rates vary dramatically from 24 deaths per 1,000 live births in Nairobi to over 94 deaths per 1,000 in Mandera County** - a four-fold difference that represents thousands of preventable deaths annually. These disparities are not merely statistical variations but reflect **systematic inequities in healthcare access, quality, and utilization** that disproportionately affect rural, pastoralist, and economically disadvantaged communities. Current health planning and resource allocation decisions are often made without comprehensive, county-specific evidence of where the greatest needs exist, leading to: - **Misaligned resource distribution**: Counties with the highest mortality rates may not receive proportional health investments - **Ineffective intervention targeting**: One-size-fits-all approaches fail to address county-specific barriers to care - **Persistent equity gaps**: Without data-driven identification of underserved populations, existing disparities continue to widen - **Suboptimal SDG progress**: Kenya risks falling short of Sustainable Development Goal 3 targets for maternal and child health by 2030 **The critical gap is the lack of systematic, county-level analysis that identifies specific disparities, quantifies equity gaps, and provides actionable insights for targeted interventions.** While national-level statistics show overall progress, they mask the reality that millions of women and children in certain counties face health outcomes compar …