When a crisis strikes, women and girls need lifesaving sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services, including contraception. The Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for SRH, the internationally accepted standard of care for SRH in emergencies, mandates the provision of contraceptive services from the outset of a crisis. Evidence shows that women and girls affected by crises want and need access to contraception, and will use it when available. Yet access to contraception remains a critical gap in humanitarian settings.
This panel shares learning and experience on improving access to contraception from four humanitarian settings:
- Sierra Leone during the Ebola outbreak;
- North and South Kivu, DRC, during the protracted conflict;
- Uganda focused on introducing self-injection for sub-cutaneous DMPA; and
- Bangladesh focused on service delivery through Integrated Women and Girl Safe Spaces.
Panelists include Gillian McKay, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; George Barigye, PATH; and Jessica Kakesa, Nasrin Akter Romi, and Terry Alovi, IRC.
