Overview
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by a newly-discovered coronavirus, a pandemic. While many countries are struggling to respond to the rapid spread of COVID-19, of particular concern is the additional challenge COVID-19 poses in contexts already facing crises, as populations may be particularly vulnerable and health systems already overstretched or weak.
Continued provision of essential sexual and reproductive health services remains critical during the global response to the pandemic. IAWG members and partners are producing clinical and programmatic guidance, assessments, policy papers, and statements to ensure continued prioritization of sexual and reproductive health and rights throughout COVID-19 response in humanitarian settings, and to bring a gender lens to the response.
IAWG will continue to add and update relevant resources from our partners as they become available. Please continue to check back frequently for the latest.
Key Resources
This document provides programmatic guidance to help maintain essential preventative, promotive, and curative sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services in fragile and humanitarian settings during the COVID-19 epidemic threat and outbreak period; including general guidance, the continuation of sexual and reproductive health services, information and communication, and infection prevention and control. The guidance is available in Arabic, English, French, and Spanish.
The Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG) on Reproductive Health in Crisis urges governments, humanitarian actors, and the private sector to work together to incorporate women’s and girls’ access to essential and rights-fulfilling SRH services during the COVID-19 public health response. We have provided a suite of advocacy tools, including the full advocacy statement, advocacy summary, a social media toolkit, and "Not a Luxury: a Call to Maintain Sexual and Reproductive Health in Humanitarian and Fragile Settings During the COVID-19 Pandemic."
Organization Resources
We have provided curated lists of general resources and sexual and reproductive health-specific resources from our member organizations. As the situation is rapidly evolving, new resources are being regularly released. For the most up-to-date information, you can visit the resource hubs below, which offer the latest COVID-19 resources from our member organizations.
- Family Planning 2020 (FP2020), The COVID-19 Pandemic
- Gender-Based Violence Area of Responsibility (GBV AoR)
- International Rescue Committee (IRC), Live Updates: Go Insider the IRC's Response to COVID-19
- Jhpiego, Our Focus During COVID-19
- Marie Stopes International, Our Response to the COVID-19 Crisis
- Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition, COVID-19 AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SUPPLIES
- Sphere, COVID-19 Guidance Based on Humanitarian Standards
- UNFPA, COVID-19: A Gender Lens
- UNICEF, Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
- World Health Organization (WHO), Coronavirus Disease (COVID-10) Pandemic