Impact of Covid-19 on Maternal Health Seeking in Ghana

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic is widely speculated to have disrupted the delivery of primary health care in low-income countries. Yet, there is little rigorous empirical research identifying this effect. This paper estimates the impact of COVID-19 on facility and skilled delivery and utilisation of antenatal care (ANC) services by comparing these outcomes for women who were pregnant/delivered before and during the Covid-19 period. The results show that Covid-19 led to 23% and 25% reductions, respectively, in the likelihood of facility delivery and four or more ANC visits during pregnancy. These findings highlight the need to build more resilient health systems in low-income settings.