| Summary: | <h4>Background</h4>Antenatal care (ANC) visits provide an important opportunity for diagnostic, preventive, and curative services for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) during pregnancy. There is an identified need for an integrated, system-wide approach to provide both ANC and NCD services to improve maternal and child health outcomes in the short and long term.<h4>Objective</h4>This study assessed the readiness of health facilities to provide ANC and NCD services in Nepal and Bangladesh, identified as low-and middle-income countries.<h4>Method</h4>The study used data from national health facility surveys in Nepal (n = 1565) and Bangladesh (n = 512) assessing recent service provision under the Demographic and Health Survey programs. Using the WHO's service availability and readiness assessment framework, the service readiness index was calculated across four domains: staff and guidelines, equipment, diagnostic, and medicines and commodities. Availability and readiness are presented as frequency and percentages, while factors associated with readiness were examined using binary logistic regression.<h4>Results</h4>Of the facilities, 71% in Nepal, and 34% in Bangladesh reported offering both ANC and NCD services. The proportion of facilities which showed readiness for providing ANC and NCD services was 24% in Nepal and 16% in Bangladesh. Gaps in readiness were observed in the availability of trained staff, guidelines, basic equipment, diagnostics, and medicines. Facilities managed by the private sector or a Non-Governmental Organization, located in an urban area, with management systems to support the delivery of quality services were positively associated with readiness to provide both ANC and NCD services.<h4>Conclusion</h4>There is a need to strengthen the health workforce by ensuring skilled personnel, having policy, guidelines and standards, and that diagnostics, medicines, and commodities are available/provided in health facilities. Management and administrative systems are also required, including supervision and staff training, to enable health services to provide integrated care at an acceptable level of quality.
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