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The Impact of Official Development Aid on Maternal and Reproductive Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review

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  • Emma Michelle Taylor
  • Rachel Hayman
  • Fay Crawford
  • Patricia Jeffery
  • James Smith

Abstract

Background: Progress toward meeting Millennium Development Goal 5, which aims to improve maternal and reproductive health outcomes, is behind schedule. This is despite ever increasing volumes of official development aid targeting the goal, calling into question the distribution and efficacy of aid. The 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness represented a global commitment to reform aid practices in order to improve development outcomes, encouraging a shift toward collaborative aid arrangements which support the national plans of aid recipient countries (and discouraging unaligned donor projects). Methods and Findings: We conducted a systematic review to summarise the evidence of the impact on MDG 5 outcomes of official development aid delivered in line with Paris aid effectiveness principles and to compare this with the impact of aid in general on MDG 5 outcomes. Searches of electronic databases identified 30 studies reporting aid-funded interventions designed to improve maternal and reproductive health outcomes. Aid interventions appear to be associated with small improvements in the MDG indicators, although it is not clear whether changes are happening because of the manner in which aid is delivered. The data do not allow for a meaningful comparison between Paris style and general aid. The review identified discernible gaps in the evidence base on aid interventions targeting MDG 5, notably on indicators MDG 5.4 (adolescent birth rate) and 5.6 (unmet need for family planning). Discussion: This review presents the first systematic review of the impact of official development aid delivered according to the Paris principles and aid delivered outside this framework on MDG 5 outcomes. Its findings point to major gaps in the evidence base and should be used to inform new approaches and methodologies aimed at measuring the impact of official development aid.

Suggested Citation

  • Emma Michelle Taylor & Rachel Hayman & Fay Crawford & Patricia Jeffery & James Smith, 2013. "The Impact of Official Development Aid on Maternal and Reproductive Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(2), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0056271
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056271
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Baird, John & Ma, Steven & Ruger, Jennifer Prah, 2011. "Effects of the World Bank's maternal and child health intervention on Indonesia's poor: Evaluating the safe motherhood project," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(12), pages 1948-1955, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Durevall, Dick & Isaksson, Ann-Sofie, 2022. "Aid and child health Local effects of aid on stunting in Malawi," Working Papers in Economics 830, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    2. Ashrita Saran & Howard White & Kerry Albright & Jill Adona, 2020. "Mega‐map of systematic reviews and evidence and gap maps on the interventions to improve child well‐being in low‐ and middle‐income countries," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(4), December.
    3. Kotsadam, Andreas & Østby, Gudrun & Rustad, Siri Aas & Tollefsen, Andreas Forø & Urdal, Henrik, 2018. "Development aid and infant mortality. Micro-level evidence from Nigeria," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 59-69.
    4. Emmanuel Banchani & Liam Swiss, 2019. "The impact of foreign aid on maternal mortality," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-11, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Hennessy, Jack & Mortimer, Duncan & Sweeney, Rohan & Woode, Maame Esi, 2023. "Donor versus recipient preferences for aid allocation: A systematic review of stated-preference studies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    6. Robert Bain & Rolf Luyendijk & Jamie Bartram, 2013. "Universal Access to Drinking Water: the Role of Aid," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2013-088, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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