This session opens a window on to the complex realities in mega-cities and urban slums when it comes to access to good quality health care services. Through the case studies of adolescents’ reproductive health, maternal and child health and non-communicable disease service delivery, this panel will be interrogating the challenges faced by residents of Lagos, Kampala, Nairobi and Kinshasa.

Three intersecting dimensions of this panel are of particular interest to a broad audience:

• What does it take to understand the service provision environment of rapidly growing mega-cities and slums?
• How can informal settlements/slums be included in the planning for health service delivery?
• What is the role of the private sector in delivering care in cities, and how can public authorities engage with this heterogeneous and dynamic group of providers?

Outline of the session:

• Aduragbemi Banke -Thomas, Department of Health Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom: Geographical access to emergency obstetric care for women living in the megacity called Lagos.
• Elsie N’Zale Sang, Save the Children, Kenya, Health and Nutrition Department: Engaging Private Health Care Providers to improve Child Health Services in Kibra informal settlement, Nairobi-Kenya
• Doreen Tuhebwe, Makerere University School of Public Health, Uganda: How to improve the design of Reproductive Health (RH) interventions to meet the health access needs of adolescents (15-19 years) living in urban poor settings of Kampala, Uganda
• Félix Vanderstricht and Serge Ngaima, ULB-Coopération, Belgium and and University of Kinshasa, DRC: Urban health and the challenge of the health system organization at district level in the cities of DR Congo: what innovative approachs to progressively integrate the private health centers in the system? The example of the District of Kintambo in Kinshasa.

Moderators: Sander Spanoghe, Flanders Department of Foreign Affairs & Thérèse Delvaux, ITM

Simultaneous interpretation English – French