  The study investigated the impact of healthcare system efficiency on the
delivery of maternal, newborn, and child services in Africa. Data Envelopment
Analysis and Tobit regression were employed to assess the efficiency of 46
healthcare systems across the continent, utilizing the Variable Returns to
Scale model with Input orientation to evaluate technical efficiency. The Tobit
method was utilized to explore factors contributing to inefficiency, with
inputs variables including hospital, physician, and paramedical staff, and
outputs variables encompassing maternal, newborn, and child admissions,
cesarean interventions, functional competency, and hospitalization days.
Results revealed that only 26% of countries exhibited efficiency, highlighting
a significant proportion of 74% with inefficiencies. Financial determinants
such as current health expenditures, comprehensive coverage index, and current
health expenditure per capita were found to have a negative impact on the
efficiency of maternal-child services. These findings underscore a marginal
deficiency in technical efficiency within Africa's healthcare systems,
emphasizing the necessity for policymakers to reassess the roles of both human
resources and financial dimensions in enhancing healthcare system performance.
