The internally displaced persons (IDPs) crisis in Ethiopia is especially pronounced in the Somali region. Although sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is common in crisis environments, the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey reported lower rates of SGBV among women aged 15 to 49 in the Somali regional state as compared to national rates. Anecdotal data suggest that rates of SGBV in the region are underreported. EngenderHealth conducted a qualitative study to investigate the potential reasons for the underreporting of SGBV in this region, assessing the perspectives of the community toward SGBV and engaging key informants to help identify factors associated with the relatively low prevalence rates of SGBV in the region.
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.
The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is deeply concerned about the escalation of conflict in Ukraine. We take our responsibility to preserve the enormous gains made in life-saving sexual and reproductive healthcare across the country very seriously, especially for women, girls, and marginalized populations, whose vulnerability and experiences are so often overlooked in humanitarian situations.
Since 2016, Global Communities has led an international consortium of organizations to implement the program Decentralization Offering Better Results and Efficiency (DOBRE) across Ukraine. DOBRE strengthens local governance to improve conditions for the development of communities, promote gender equality and women’s empowerment, and enhance economic sustainability.
Humanitarian donors must ensure there is funding available for the provision of immediate services to GBV survivors and essential and lifesaving SRH services, in line with the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP). Humanitarian leadership and actors must collaborate with UNFPA, local, and international health actors to ensure that the full package of lifesaving SRH services and supplies guided by the MISP are available.
On 24 February, a new phase in the armed conflict in Ukraine started with the intensification and spread of the hostilities that are now affecting most parts of the country and causing major concern for the protection of civilians and essential civilian infrastructure. This comes after months of rising political and military tensions and eight years of conflict in and around Eastern Ukraine where an estimated 2.9 million people were already in need of humanitarian assistance and 1.4 million were internally displaced.
Join us for a webinar on how to use the Planning for Comprehensive SRH in Crisis-Affected Settings: A Participatory Workshop Toolkit to Transition from the MISP. We will learn from colleagues’ experiences leading workshops in in Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Yemen, and how the planning process contributed to strengthening health systems and resilience for SRH.
PHR warns about the acute potential for conflict-related sexual violence in Ukraine. Past conflicts in Ukraine and globally have resulted in conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). It is critical that all warring parties refrain from SGBV. PHR also calls on authorities to ensure sustained access to comprehensive health services, including sexual and reproductive health care and mental health care for survivors of SGBV.
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Munition Coalition (ICBL-CMC), of which Humanity & Inclusion is a founding member, strongly condemns the alleged use of cluster munitions yesterday by Russian forces in the Ukraine conflict, and the death and injury of civilians, as reported by "The New York Times"and other sources. ICBL-CMC is alarmed by the threat of further harm to civilians including humanitarian mine action partners, following yesterday’s largescale escalation by Russia.
California Refugee Reproductive Health Network (ReproNet) is a network of refugee women, healthcare providers, community leaders, social service organizations, and researchers who prioritize a patient-driven research agenda that focuses on the post-resettlement sexual and reproductive needs and wellbeing of refugee women. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ReproNet partners had to adapt virtual settings rather than in-person activities to engage refugee women in sexual and reproductive health discussion; which raised the concerns like accessibility, trust-building, and level of engagement among the community. This document describes an assessment for refugee community readiness in virtual engagement. This checklist could be used as a tool to systematically assess the experiences, resources, and limitations of using technologies with refugee groups and to elicit details that contribute to culturally appropriate planning and implementation of refugee virtual group meetings.
Alight, has sent a team of aid workers to Poland. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee the country and many more to seek shelter underground or with family in safer parts of the country. It’s Alight’s hope that the fighting will end soon and Ukrainians can return home, but we are mobilizing to support Ukrainian families if they cannot.