Antenatal Care (ANC), use of skilled delivery attendants and postnatal care (PNC) services are key maternal health services that can significantly reduce maternal mortality. Understanding the factors that affect service utilization helps to design appropriate strategies and policies towards improvement of service utilization and thereby reduce maternal mortality. The objective of this study was to identify factors that affect utilization of maternal health services in Ethiopia.

Infant mortality reflects not only the health of infants but societal well-being as a whole. This study explores distal socioeconomic and related proximate determinants of infant mortality and provides evidence for designing targeted interventions. Survival information on 5391 live born infants (2006–2010) was examined from the nationally representative Nepal Demographic Health Survey 2011. Bivariate logistic regression and multivariate hierarchical logistic regression approaches were performed to analyze the distal-socioeconomic and related proximate determinants of infant mortality. Socio-economic distal determinants are important predictors for infant mortality. For example, in reference to infants of the richest class, the adjusted odds ratio of infant mortality was 1.66 (95 % CI: 1.00–2.74) in middle class and 1.87 (95 % CI: 1.14–3.08) in poorer class, respectively. Similarly, the populations of the Mountain ecological region had a higher odds ratio (aOR =1.39, 95 % CI: 0.90–2.16) of experiencing infant mortality compared with the populations of the Terai plain region. Likewise, the population of Far-western development region had a higher adjusted odds ratio (aOR =1.62, 95 % CI: 1.02–2.57) of experiencing infant mortality than the Western development region. Moreover, the association of proximate determinants with infant mortality was statistically significant. For example, in reference to size at birth, adjusted odds ratio of infant dying was higher for infants whose birth size, as reported by mothers, was very small (aOR = 3.41, 95 % CI: 2.16–5.38) than whose birth size was average. Similarly, fourth or higher birth rank infants with a short preceding birth interval (less than or equal to 2 years) were at greater risk of dying (aOR =1.74, 95 % CI: 1.16–2.62) compared to the second or third rank infants with longer birth intervals. A short birth interval of the second or the third rank infants also increased the odds of infant death (aOR = 2.03, 95 % CI: 1.23–3.35). Socioeconomic distal and proximate determinants are associated with infant mortality in Nepal. Infant mortality was higher in the poor and middle classes than the wealthier classes. Population of Mountain ecological region and Far western development region had high risk of infant mortality. Similarly, infant dying was higher for infants whose birth size, as reported by mothers, was very small and who has higher birth rank and short preceding birth interval. This study uniquely addresses both broader socioeconomic distal and proximate determinants side by side at the individual, household and community levels. For this, both comprehensive, long-term, equity-based public health interventions and immediate infant care programs are recommended.

Energy security is one of the primary goals of the European Union energy policy as the region relies mostly on imports to meet its energy resources demand. In 2013, the share of the net imported energy resources was as high as 54.5% of total energy consumption in the 28 member states of the European Union. Research on energy security involves a detailed analysis of economic, technological, and socio-political factors. The main objective of this study is to find out the economic consequences in the short run due to changes in the level of the security of energy resources supply. In order to acquire quantitative measures of the research object, the energy security index calculation methodology proposed by Jansen et al. (2004) is applied. To explore what effects, if any, energy security has on the economy of the EU, five economic indicators, with which the probable short-term impact of energy security is the most likely, are distinguished: real GDP, inflation, current account balance, foreign direct investment, and employment. Granger causality tests of the panel VAR model reveal that in the short run employment may be negatively affected by energy security. The effect itself is relatively small and short-lived. No short term causality is observed running from energy security towards the remaining macroeconomic variables of the panel VAR model. Such conclusions would suggest making the European Union energy policy decisions without prioritizing possible swings of the energy security level in the short run.