Linking communities to maternal health care via an emergency transport scheme. MAMaZ

The UK aid funded Mobilising Access to Maternal Health Services in Zambia (MAMaZ) programme tested a community engagement approach which aimed to stimulate demand for maternal and newborn health services in poor communities located in rural areas. Intervention communities were assisted to establish community response systems which enabled them to take action in response to maternal emergencies. One of these systems was an Emergency Transport Scheme (ETS). This technical brief outlines how the ETS worked, and the impact that it had on participating communities. It examines the costs of introducing and operating community-based emergency transport and what this implies for health financing. The brief concludes that community-based ETS schemes have a great deal of potential to fill the referral gap between facilities and communities.