Woman-Centered Care

Woman-Centered Care

Improving Provision & Experience of Care

Pointing to evidence-informed approaches, we have influenced global standards as well as regional and national policy to improve the provision and experience of care for women in the East, Central and Southern Africa region.    

Global: We helped inform a WHO Statement on the Prevention and Elimination of Disrespect and Abuse.   

Regional:  In 2018, a ministerial resolution recognized Respectful Maternal Care (RMC) as a priority in the East, Central and Southern Africa region.  

National: Tanzania adopted the National Guideline for Gender and Respectful Care Mainstreaming and Integration Across RMNCAH services in Tanzania. 

Knowledge Hub

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) initiative to advance maternal newborn and child health – including respectful maternity care and addressing obstetric complications – has yielded a robust repository of research, posters, briefs, and more.

ECSA-HC and partners collaborate to produce and share evidence to advance respectful high-quality care and address obstetric emergencies, among other issues.

This is a one-stop-platform for Tanzania respectful and compassionate care information. Find resources ranging from policy documents, communication and advocacy materials, visual media, and more.

Discover a library of information on Respectful, Woman-Centered Care, including Respectful Maternal Care and disrespect and abuse of childbearing women.

History of Woman-Centered Care

In 2022, the ISC welcomed more than 300 people from 50+ countries for a webinar exploring evidence, experiences and perspectives on approaches and routine monitoring and evaluation for respectful maternal care in Africa. It was co-hosted by the East, Central, and Southern Africa Health Community and the University of California San Francisco.

Since the Bowser and Hill Landscape Analysis was commissioned in 2010, much has been done to address disrespect and abuse in birthing facilities and to develop, test, and implement interventions and approaches to promote respectful maternal care (RMC) (see the Timeline of Key Events for major milestones). Our global partners and those in Malawi, Madagascar, Kenya, and Tanzania have reflected the power of local leadership, meaningful stakeholder engagement, implementation evidence, and dissemination to inform and improve woman-centered care in their countries.  We have engaged researchers, implementers, and policy experts from Africa and the U.S. to generate more evidence on promising approaches, analysis and consultation around RMC terms and framing, improved packaging of evidence and knowledge products, and informed indicator development for routine monitoring and evaluation of RMC.  

Other Communities of Practice

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AlignMNH