Country: South Sudan – Uganda Border Camps
Sector: Health, Displacement
Background:
The client needed a clearer picture of why maternal healthcare uptake remained low among South Sudanese refugee women in Ugandan border settlements. The objective was to inform the design of more culturally sensitive health outreach.
Approach:
We conducted 400 structured interviews with refugee women of reproductive age and held 24 focus groups with midwives, traditional birth attendants, and youth representatives.
We used journey-mapping techniques to track their experience from pregnancy to postnatal care.
Findings:
Only 27% of women reported accessing formal antenatal services. Fear of unfamiliar clinic procedures, language barriers, and lack of female healthcare staff were major deterrents. Traditional beliefs around birthing remained strong, especially among new arrivals.
Impact:
Insights helped design a new community outreach strategy involving female translators and mobile midwife clinics. The study’s results also shaped a cross-border maternal health harmonization policy adopted by multiple stakeholders.
