Key informant views of a free delivery and caesarean policy in Senegal

This article presents the findings of one component of an evaluation of the national policy for free deliveries and caesareans in Senegal. The policy was introduced in 2005 in five more deprived regions of the country. It aimed to reduce the financial barriers to using maternity services and to increase the number of facility-based deliveries. The findings are drawn from 54 semi-structured interviews with key informants who had technical and administrative or political responsibility for the policy at national, regional, district and health post level. These were carried out from November 2006 to January 2007. The evaluation findings emphasise the importance of careful planning and communication before a major national policy is implemented, and also of simple and clear definition of the package of 'free' services on offer. Long-term investment in supply will also be needed to increase access for the most remote areas.