"The Lancet" Series on Women’s and Children’s Health in Conflict Settings aims to improve understanding of and address the special requirements of providing sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition services in conflict settings. The Series draws upon scholarship from the BRANCH Consortium, providing insights into the nature and dynamics of women’s and children’s health and nutrition in diverse conflict contexts globally. The Series papers articulate a way forward to fill immediate evidence and guidance gaps as well as longer-term action to ensure the most effective humanitarian health response for conflict-affected women and children.
News Articles
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNFPA Bangladesh developed and implemented innovative solutions to ensure that sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services were continuously being provided and accessible to Rohingya and host communities in Cox’s Bazar, including lifesaving SRH services. One such innovation is the ‘Community-Based Patient Transportation System,’ which provides free and safe transportation to women from the Rohingya camps and host communities to nearby health facilities. This effort is part of a larger project in collaboration with IAWG, WHO/Global Health Cluster, and partners around planning for and operationalize comprehensive SRH programming in Cox’s Bazar. Efforts under this objective were adapted to meet the challenges posed to SRH service provision, access, and expansion by the pandemic. Read more about how the transportation system contributed to safe deliveries and ensuring access to family planning services during the pandemic.
UNFPA and NRC in Jordan organized a virtual training workshop on Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action, with the aim to build the capacity of humanitarian workers, youth workers, and focal points from the different working groups and sectors who are involved in humanitarian response on the “Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action” and its relevant tools and resources.
As the National Midwifery Advisor, UNFPA DRC, Mme Henriette Eke collaborated with the IAWG Training Partnership Initiative on an effort to strengthening the health system through the integration of MISP for Sexual and Reproductive Health into basic midwifery training in the three DRC provinces. Her leadership and vision for this effort – alongside the team at UNFPA, the Ministry of Higher Education and Universities, Ministry of Health, World Health Organization, National Midwifery Association, participating Midwifery Schools, and other partners – resulted in a revised national midwifery curriculum that included the MISP and equipping training institutions, instructors, and internship sites with the tools and training to support the roll out of the new curriculum in Kasai, Central Kasai, and Oriental Kasai. Lessons learned from this monumental achievement greatly contributed to the global SRHR’s community’s understanding of how to successfully plan for operationalize comprehensive SRH services after implementing the MISP during an emergency.
As a dedicated staff member of the Newborn Initiative, the Advocacy and Comms Specialist will work closely with the IAWG Senior Advisor for Maternal and Newborn Health (IRC Senior Coordinator, IAWG Newborn Initiative) to advance key global- and national-level advocacy and communications agendas for MNH. Through coordination with key global, national, and local partners - particularly the IAWG MNH sub-working group and the Every Newborn Action Plan’s newborn health in emergencies working group - this position will support advocacy and communications efforts aimed at elevating the Roadmap within global networks and events, growing multi-sectoral commitments to the objectives with the Roadmap, and advancing national agendas that will institutionalize progress made for MNH. The Specialist will also lead the development and implementation of communications and knowledge management strategies aimed at coordinating, documenting, and reporting progress made by the global community in advancing the Roadmap.
This role will be a key member of the Gender Equality Unit and will play a critical function to lead gender integration in programming strategy, standards, and guidance development. The role will engage with other Technical Excellence staff, the Strategy Unit, and country program teams to support new feminist and transformational programming frameworks, tools, and approaches.