Improving access to maternal health services in eastern Uganda : changing incentives through voucher schemes

Abstract

The majority of women in Sub Saharan Africa still give birth without a skilled birth attendant. Existing evidence suggests that voucher schemes have the potential to provide more targeted services to vulnerable groups such as pregnant women. However, there is much less empirical evidence about the underlying processes that bring about this change. This thesis explores the influence of incentives provided by a voucher scheme that was implemented in Uganda, on the behaviour of clients and providers and analyses how the incentives influence access to maternal health services. It contributes to the existing literature on increasing the effectiveness of voucher schemes in achieving increased access to maternal health services.