Maternal and neonatal care (Programa Salud Materno y Neonatal - PSMN)

PSMN was a results-based financing program created with the goals of reducing maternal mortality, neonatal mortality, and fertility rate. This program focuses on providing family planning services, offering quality prenatal care, identifying risk factors in expectant mothers and ensuring delivery and care of newborns is performed by qualified health personnel. The program strengthened the basic obstetric care services as well as access and availability of safe blood for delivery; it also provided funding towards SIS to increase coverage for women and children and increased the budget for the operation and equipment of neonatal intensive care units across the country.

Literature Review

We did not review academic literature tying PSMN to childhood stunting. However, the Peruvian government noted that PSMN strengthened basic obstetric care services, access to such care, and availability of safe blood for delivery.¹

Quantitative Analysis

Based on the linear mixed effects regression, PSMN expenditure per capita was not significant across any time period. PSMN was also not found to be significant in the decomposition analysis. However, there is a need to account for that fact that scaling up of this program started in 2009, and according to participants of the qualitative component, it only effectively reached all states beginning in 2010. As such, the lack of an association was likely due to the late scale up of PSMN; a few more years of data will be required to improve our understanding of impact.

Qualitative Analysis

PSMN was mentioned multiple times as an example of results-based financing but was noted as a secondary factor relative to PAN in contributing to stunting decline.

Conclusion

While more time will be needed to quantitatively assess the impact of PSMN on childhood stunting, the totality of our research efforts posit that these programs likely have had and will continue to have an important role in reducing stunting in Peru.

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