Free Maternal and Neonatal Care in Urban DRC: Effects on Service Utilization and Implementation Challenges in Kinshasa
While the 2023 policy removing user fees for maternal and neonatal care in Kinshasa, DRC, significantly increased service utilization, its effectiveness in improving health outcomes was constrained by systemic challenges such as staff shortages, supply stock-outs, and overcrowding, highlighting the need for parallel investments in health system capacity.