Modeling Geographical Accessibility and Inequalities to Childbirth Services in the Grand Nokoue Metropolitan Area, Benin.

ABSTRACT: Timely access to comprehensive , high-quality emergency obstetric and neonatal care can prevent maternal and neonatal mortality but remains challenging in Benin. We examine geographic accessibility to childbirth care (CBC) in Grand Nokoué, the largest conurbation in Benin. We gathered data on boundaries, health facilities, road network, elevation, land cover, relative wealth, urbanicity, and geo-traced travel speeds over 45 days during the rainy season. We modelled travel times (TT) to health facility offering CBC (stratified by level and sector) using the least-cost path algorithm, based on slowest, average, and fastest travel speeds. We estimated the percentage of women of childbearing age (WoCBA) within 30, 60, and 120 min of the nearest facility by subnational areas. We explored inequa

SUBMITTER: Hounmenou YSC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12484443 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature