Assessing DFID’s results in improving maternal health

DFID programmes have expanded access to family planning and some maternal health services, but a renewed effort is required to reach young women and girls and to generate lasting impacts on quality of care and maternal health outcomes.

Score: Amber/Red
  1. Status: Completed
  2. Published: 30 October 2018
  3. Type: Impact review
  4. Subject: Global health, Women and girls
  5. Assessment: Amber/Red
  6. Location: Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi
  7. Lead commissioner: Alison Evans
  8. SDGs covered:Good health and wellbeing

Read the approach paper

Our approach

We examined the impact and sustainability of DFID’s contribution to improving maternal health and assessed the validity of DFID’s results claims. We looked at country-level and centrally managed programming designed to improve maternal health services for women and to expand family planning, which were operational between 2011 and 2015. We also reviewed DFID policy, strategy and guidance documents on maternal health. This analysis was underpinned by a review of published literature to establish a consensus on what works and was framed by the global results targets that DFID set in its 2010 Results Framework.

We undertook two case study visits to Malawi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). These countries made a significant contribution to DFID’s overall results claims during the Results Framework and are representative of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa where accelerated progress will be needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and where UK aid is increasingly focused.

Review questions

The review seeks to answer the following key questions:

  1. How well has DFID maximised the impact of its programming on maternal health?
  2. How well do DFID’s maternal health and family planning programmes reflect commitments to equity and inclusion?
  3. Are DFID’s maternal health results likely to prove sustainable?

Timeline

Approach

Published 24 Jan 2018

Evidence gathering

Complete

Review publication

Published 30 October 2018

Government response

Published 5 December 2018

Parliamentary scrutiny

IDC hearing 19 December 2018

ICAI follow-up

Published 23 July 2020

Further follow-up

Published 23 June 2021

Further follow-up

Published 30 June 2022