From Rural Ecuador to the National Level, Women in Ecuador's “User Committees” are Working to Implement Maternal Health Policies

Ecuador provides universal maternal health care through the “Free Maternity Law”/Ley de Maternidad Gratuita y Atención Infantil” (LMGAI). In Ecuador's decentralized health care system, “User Committees”/Comités de Usarios” are integral to this law's implementation. The LMGAI mandates Committees to assist in monitoring and overseeing government provided maternal health care within their communities. In 2006, the Committees organized themselves into a National Collective with a social and political agenda.

Data will be collected from approximately 50 surveys of Committees associated with the National Collective, key informant interviews with representatives of Committees, and interviews with government officials responsible for implementing the LMGAI.

Anticipated results of this study will identify Committees' various levels of development, identify lessons learned from Committee's monitoring and oversight experiences, and will seek to identify social factors that contribute to Committees' level of development and effectiveness in their communities.

As part of “Public Health Without Borders” the results of this study can be used to strengthen Ecuador's provision of maternal health care and can be applied to other countries seeking to strengthen civil societies' involvement in local and national health policies.