Not Your Usual Subjects is a Stories to Action podcast highlighting unheard youth voices on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its rippling impacts on pressing yet under-reported sexual and reproductive health and rights issues. In this episode, they discuss the humanitarian crisis in Cameroon and the complex and multifaceted journey of young people in navigating barriers to sexual and reproductive health and rights when living in fragile states.
News Articles
Investing in quality midwifery education is an effective strategy to reduce maternal and newborn mortality and improve sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (SRMNCAH). Fourteen (14) nursing teachers have just successfully completed their midwifery training at the Higher Institute of Medical Techniques (ISTM) Kinshasa. These former nurse teachers conducting the training of midwives in the midwifery training institutions in the provinces of Kasaï Central, Kasaï, and Kasaï Oriental, benefited from UNFPA scholarships for an 18-month training at ISTM Kinshasa, a pilot institution for the midwifery program, which has more than 5 years experience in retraining and is well equipped with teaching staff and educational equipment.
In humanitarian settings, self-care offers an opportunity to ensure access to essential SRH services, even amidst a strained health system. This blog, written by IAWG members, discusses the need for self-care for SRH in humanitarian settings.
In this English version of a podcast based on translations from the original Arabic, Fatima Azzeh from CARE interviews Samar Karamo and Baraa Bobaki from IHSAN Relief and Development, who talk about what they've learned on designing cash programming so it supports and protects women facing gender-based violence. This interview covers why cash is important, how to make sure we don't retraumatize survivors and the importance of understanding local context and testing our approach. It also shows how important it is to set up safety plans, think about potential harm, and build holistic services. it is also available in the original Arabic.
It's no secret that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have hit some harder than others. For women and girls, in particular, those effects are exacerbated by (and contribute to) gender-based violence (GBV). Over the past two years, partners in the field and our very own social entrepreneurs have learned nuanced connections between menstrual health (MH) needs and varying forms of GBV.This blog post explores those connections and discusses how supportive MH environments are an essential component of GBV prevention. As waves of the COVID-19 pandemic continue around the globe, this year's campaign urges us to remember women and girls and persevere in the fight for health, dignity, and opportunity for all.
In the final newsletter of the year, the African Youth Digest looks back at the exciting activities over the past year, including empowering men and youth to fight GBV, training 55 youth advocates to provide SRH services, 16 days of activism against GBV, and more.