This actionable guidance document outlines four strategies for building community support for comprehensive sexuality education in various cultural contexts. Each strategy is accompanied by complementary resources and tools used in real settings. Also available in French.
The Role of Social Capital in Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Humanitarian Settings: a Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies
Hannah Ireland, Nguyen Toan Tran, and Angela Dawson | Conflict and HealthThis systematic review of qualitative studies investigates the nexus of women's sexual and reproductive health and rights and social capital in humanitarian settings. Social capital is an important determinant of women's sexual and reproductive health and rights however little research has been conducted exploring its role during times of crisis. The findings demonstrate that social capital does act through a number of pathways to impact women's sexual and reproductive health in humanitarian settings, both positively and negatively. Insights from this review could help inform community-based preparedness and response programs aimed at improving the demand for and access to quality sexual and reproductive health services in humanitarian settings.
This advocacy brief is based on a study conducted in 2021 under the Approaches in Complex and Challenging Environments for Sustainable Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) (ACCESS) program. It explores the equity and agency of selected marginalized communities - including sex workers, transgender people, men who have sex with men, lesbian, bisexual, queer and intersex (LGBT+) people, people living with HIV, people living with a disability, and adolescent girls and young women - in Lebanon, Mozambique, and Uganda, with in relation to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic 2020-2021.The brief summarises key findings on the enablers and barriers to SRHR for each community in the three countries. It makes recommendations for humanitarian and development actors on how to better address these barriers, and steps for working across the humanitarian-development nexus with communities.
Family Planning Video Series
Global Health MediaGlobal Health Media Project released more than 60 videos on family planning in November and December 2021. The videos cover contraceptive methods, skills, and counseling, as well as videos that support contraceptive practices – such as explaining how to use the MEC wheel and app or explaining bleeding changes on contraceptives. There are 34 videos for frontline health workers, 20 videos for women and partners, and 7 teaching shorts - that show and tell the step-by-step information in the skill videos. The footage was shot in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Uganda. Colleagues from Ipas, UNFPA, WHO, ICM, and Laerdal Global Health provided content expertise throughout the project.The videos are available in English now, with French and Spanish coming soon. Contact GHMP if you would like to narrate them in your language.
CSE We Can Count On: Building and Harnessing Community Support for Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Schools
Project Jeune LeaderEffective implementation of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) requires the intentional building of local support within and across target communities. Considering the lack of resources available on how to achieve this element in practice, we are excited to announce the launching of “CSE We Can Count On”, a document that provides actionable guidance for cultivating sustainable community buy-in for CSE. The content and ideas presented in this document are intended to be transposable to an array of development, humanitarian and social change contexts, and thus would benefit practitioners working in crisis or non-crisis settings at the intersection of health, education, and gender equality.
Malawi Menstrual Health Advocacy Activation Meeting held on International Day of the Girl
Days for Girls InternationalOn October 11, 2022, International Day of the Girl, government leaders and other key stakeholders came together for an Advocacy Activation Meeting focusing on advancing menstrual equity in Malawi. The event was sponsored by The First Lady of Malawi's foundation, Shaping Our Future Foundation, Days for Girls Malawi, and UNFPA.
Menstruation in a Global Context: Addressing Policy and Practice
Columbia University’s GATE ProgramColumbia University’s GATE Program has launched a new free online course, Menstruation in a Global Content: Addressing Policy and Practice. With 24 global speakers, this self-paced EdX course reviews menstrual and hygiene research, programming, & policies from around the world. Notably, one entire module of the course is focused on menstruation programming and guidance for humanitarian emergencies.
HIV Programming in Fragile and Humanitarian Settings
IAWG STIs/HIV Sub-Working GroupDecember 1, 2021, marks the second World AIDS Day since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. For populations affected by conflict and crises, COVID-19 has held specific consequences for service delivery and access to care, including for HIV prevention and response. Interruptions to HIV service delivery are often experienced during disruptions such as civil unrest, elections, flooding, cyclones, and disease outbreaks. These disruptions may further drive the HIV epidemic by fueling gender-based violence, child labor, and lack of access to HIV services. As we observe World AIDS Day this year, the STIs/HIV Sub-Working Group (SWG) wishes to emphasize the need for adaptive strategies during humanitarian crises, particularly during the continued COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure uninterrupted service delivery to those we serve.
Centre for Healthcare and Economic Empowerment for Women and Youth (CHCEEWY) was motivated by the outcomes of a team of researchers who discovered the challenges women and young people faced in accessing Healthcare Information and services, economic opportunities, political participation (including in peace and security dialogue), education, and Inheritance. The team decided to take constructive and deliberate social action to address these barriers by advocating for policy that supports the mobilization of women and youth.
This brief provides an overview of how MOMENTUM addresses gender across the project cycle and within a variety of program areas. Given the project’s scale and scope, insights from this resource may be useful to other global health implementers seeking to ensure that gender is effectively integrated within their projects.
African Union Youth Digest
African Union Youth DivisionIn 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.
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.