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The evolution and contemporary challenges of health research (HR) in Madagascar are poorly documented. We aim to gain insights on the factors that shape Madagascar's National Health Research System (NHRS) to better understand their influence. We conducted a qualitative case study, which included a documentary review and semi- structured interviews with 38 key informants. We carried out a thematic analysis and used the WHO/AFRO NHRS Barometer to structure the presentation of the results. There is no legislative framework to support HR activities and institutions. There is, however, a policy document outlining national priorities for HS. Human resources for HR are insufficient, due to challenges in training and retaining researchers. International collaboration is almost the only source of HR funding. Collaborations contribute to developing human and institutional capacity, but they are not always aligned with research carried out locally and the country's priority health needs. Incomplete efforts to improve regulation and low public investment in research training and research implementation reflect an insufficient commitment to HR by the government. Negotiating equitable international partnerships, the availability of public funding, and aligning HR with national health priorities would constitute a solid basis for the development of the NHRS in Madagascar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Madagascar's health system is highly dependent on donor funding, especially from the United States (US), and relies on a few nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) to provide contraceptive services in remote areas of the country. The Trump administration reinstated and expanded the Global Gag Rule (GGR) in 2017; this policy requires non-US NGOs receiving US global health funding to certify that neither they nor their sub-grantees will provide, counsel or refer for abortion as a method of family planning. Evidence of the impact of the GGR in a country with restrictive abortion laws, like Madagascar – which has no explicit exception to save the woman's life – is limited. Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 259 representatives of the Ministry of Health and NGOs, public and private health providers, community health workers and contraceptive clients in Antananarivo and eight districts between May 2019 and March 2020. Interviews highlighted the impact of the GGR on NGOs that did not certify the policy and lost their US funding. This reduction in funding led to fewer contraceptive service delivery points, including mobile outreach services, a critical component of care in rural areas. Public and private health providers reported increased contraceptive stockouts and fees charged to clients. Although the GGR is ostensibly about abortion, it has reduced access to contraception for the Malagasy population. This is one of few studies to directly document the impact on women who themselves described their increased difficulties obtaining contraception ultimately resulting in discontinuation of contraceptive use, unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]