Integration of Traditional Birth Attendants into Public Healthcare Services for Safe Motherhood Programmes in Rwandan Urban Slums: Coverage and Mortality Reduction Analysis

Traditional birth attendants (TBAs) play a significant role in safe motherhood programmes in urban slums of Rwanda. A systematic review was conducted to analyse existing literature on the integration of TBAs in safe motherhood programmes, focusing on urban slums in Rwanda. Data from peer-reviewed journals, grey literature, and reports were systematically searched and analysed using predefined inclusion criteria. Analysis revealed a community coverage rate of TBAs ranging from 45% to 60%, with an estimated mortality reduction attributed to TBA involvement being between 20% and 30%. The integration of traditional birth attendants into public healthcare services significantly improved maternal and neonatal health outcomes in Rwandan urban slums. Public health programmes should prioritise the training, supervision, and support for TBAs to enhance their effectiveness and coverage rates. Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p_i)=\beta_0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.