The obstetric care subsidy policy in Burkina Faso: what are the effects after five years of implementation? Findings of a complex evaluation

Burkina Faso, like many low and middle income countries, has been taking a range of actions to address its poor maternal and neonatal health indicators. In 2006 the government introduced an innovative national subsidy scheme for deliveries and emergency obstetric care in public facilities. This article reports on a complex evaluation of this policy, carried out 5 years after its introduction, which examined its effects on utilisation, quality of care, equity and the health system as a whole, as well as its cost and sustainability.