Improving access to quality health services for mothers (including pregnant women), newborns and children (MNC) requires evidence-informed, goal-oriented health and social policies as well as interventions based on good practice. As a commitment to maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH), Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) invested CAN$36 million through the Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa (IMCHA) initiative – a seven-year programme (2014–2020) in 11 countries.

Across sub-Saharan Africa, around 550 women die every day from complications due to pregnancy or childbirth, and children under five are 16 times more likely to die than if they were born in high-income countries. Many of these
deaths are preventable through stronger, more resilient, health systems. Access to quality care and data are areas that require investment, improvement and innovation to reduce maternal and child mortality rates.

In recent decades, equity has continued to gain importance in public health policy and practice. Equity is a core principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its rallying cry is to leave no one behind.

The sub-Saharan African (SSA) region has over two thirds of the global burden of maternal deaths and records high infant mortality rates. The region recorded an average of 534 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2017 (WorldBank 2017). Further, one in 13 children died before their fifth birthday in 2019, a statistic that is 15 times higher than that of children born in high-income countries (UNICEF 2020). 

The Malawi healthcare system consists of two main providers: the Ministry of Health and Population (MOH&P) and the not-for profit private-sector Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM), which provide 60%, and 37% of the health services, respectively.  

Health services are provided at four levels:
1. Community level through health surveillance assistants. The focus is on preventive interventions;
2. MoH-governed primary services in rural health centers, health posts, and outreach clinics;
3. Secondary level healthcare through district and CHAM hospitals, both of which are referral sites for
obstetric emergencies;
4. Tertiary level care, located mostly in urban centers, provide specialist services.

There is increasing evidence that women with the ability to exercise control over their sexual and reproductive lives have greater access to prompt prevention and treatment of maternal health disorders, resulting in a concomitant reduction in maternal morbidity and mortality. This study assessed the association between indices of women's empowerment and utilization of skilled antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal maternity care in two rural Local Government Areas in Edo State, Nigeria.