Abstract
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted country health systems and necessitated urgent actions to offset its effects on service provision, especially for vulnerable populations such as mothers and children. We aimed to analyse the experiences of healthcare workers in Burkina Faso and Mozambique, and the perceived effects of COVID-19 on reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) service provision and utilisation. METHODS: We conducted key informant interviews with healthcare workers involved in direct patient care and managerial positions in two provinces in Burkina Faso (Kadiogo and Boulkiemdé) (n = 33) and three provinces in Mozambique (Maputo City, Maputo Province, and Nampula) (n = 66). We audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded the interviews using a deductive and inductive coding approach. We analysed perceptions of RMNCH service disruptions and compared the results between the two countries. We used an inductive analysis method. RESULTS: The health systems in Burkina Faso and Mozambique reacted quickly and in a similar way to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the adoption of COVID-19 activities and the implementation of rotational staff schedules may have slowed down the provision of services. Some services, such as antenatal care and child nutritional services, were limited. In both countries, respondents reported that unforeseen patient costs, such as for face masks, shortages in child medications, and fear from patients of getting COVID-19 virus at health facilities appeared to have hindered service utilisation. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic did not appear to have ceased the availability of or cause substantial disruptions to RMNCH services at health facilities in either country, but our findings showed that key informants perceived the pandemic did influence the reorganisation of health services, and the provision and utilisation of RMNCH services.