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This brief (also available in French) summarizes the process, findings, and insights from a Breakthrough ACTION landscape assessment about the resources and evidence that exists for family planning (FP) social and behavior change (SBC) in fragile and humanitarian settings. It also highlights recommendations for strengthening FP SBC in these contexts.

Commodity availability for maternal, newborn, and child health; voluntary family planning; reproductive health; and nutrition programs is critical to the success of any health project and is often a major barrier to the provision of quality health services at the last mile. This report explores supply chain challenges in fragile and conflict-affected settings. To create this report, MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience staff undertook research to better understand how countries manage commodities at facility and community levels, how those commodities are dispensed and tracked, and what the major bottlenecks are.

Days for Girls in Malawi, in collaboration with IREX, participated in USAID's Youth Excel Project to study the impact its community meetings had on menstrual health attitudes. This new infographic dives into the project's findings, revealing that participation in community meetings focused on menstrual health education fostered positive changes in attitudes towards menstrual health and increased support for positive menstrual hygiene practices.

The Abortion-related Morbidity and Mortality in Fragile and Conflict-affected Settings (AMoCo) study is a multi-year research project to assess the magnitude and severity of abortion-related complications in hospitals located in fragile or conflict-affected areas of the Central African Republic (CAR) and Nigeria. All AMoCo Study resources are now available as a collection in English and French.

Data regarding monkeypox virus (MPXV) infection in pregnancy are limited. It is unknown if pregnant people are more susceptible to MPXV or if infection is more severe in pregnancy. MPXV can be transmitted to the fetus during pregnancy or to the newborn by close contact during and after birth. Adverse pregnancy outcomes, including spontaneous pregnancy loss and stillbirth, have been reported in cases of confirmed mpox during pregnancy. Preterm delivery and neonatal mpox have also been reported. The frequency and risk factors for severity and adverse pregnancy outcomes are not known.

At a recent Wilson Center event titled, “Midwives Are Key to Climate Resilience,” speakers examined the role that midwives can play in building resilience to climate change. This article summarises key discussion points around harnessing the knowledge of midwives, particularly as their additional responsibilities require additional strategies, and notable recommendations to prepare for the next climate crisis.

This cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted in five counties in South Sudan used vignettes as a qualitative method to explore social norms related to family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) and decisions related to contraceptive use and gender-based violence. The study identified restrictive social norms related to FP/RH, including entrenched, dominant gender roles (i.e., requiring male consent to use contraceptives) and risks for the woman and her provider if she accesses FP/RH services, recommending that programmes working to promote the use of FP/RH services in South Sudan to consider the challenges presented by social norms.

The Healthy Newborn Network (HNN) is thrilled to present its brand-new platform! Featuring a modern look, the redesigned website contains a refined resource library, a comprehensive data visualization tool and database, and a home for global experiences and stories in its blog. The website features content to include key health topics that affect newborns, mothers, and the families and communities that care for them; this includes resources and information that affect the health and well-being of newborns, their mothers, and caregivers.

These foundational principles provide key considerations for professionals to use when developing and implementing consent and assent processes for child survivors of sexual violence that respect children’s right to be heard and evolving capacity within trauma-informed justice and reparation processes. This document was developed by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) in collaboration with a community of practice made up of global experts from the medical, psychological, legal, ethical and human rights sectors.

Ongoing fighting in Sudan has led to a devastating humanitarian crisis that UN Humanitarian and Emergency Relief Chief Martin Griffiths calls “one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history.” Among the millions of people harmed by the fighting are countless pregnant people and new mothers, who face direct and indirect threats to their health and lives in the country’s renewed conflict. This article looks at the gendered impacts and maternal health considerations of the war in Sudan.

Neonatal hypothermia is a major cause of preventable morbidity and mortality, especially among the world’s poorest newborns. A heat-producing wrap is necessary when kangaroo mother care (KMC) is insufficient or unavailable, yet there is little published research on such wraps. The Dream Warmer is a wrap designed to complement KMC and has been extensively studied in formal research settings but not in real-world conditions. This research found that the Warmer raised no safety concerns and was used correctly in the vast majority of cases. Healthcare providers and parents reported a generally positive experience with the Warmer.

The IRC conducted a qualitative study from June 2023 to July 2024 to examine practices and experiences of care along the referral pathway from basic emergency obstetric and newborn care (BEmONC) to emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC), and identify recommendations for strengthening referrals and improving experiences of care for clients, particularly those seeking care for obstetric complications. The research study was undertaken in select sites in Yobe and Borno states in Northeast Nigeria and Bocaranga-Koui, Nana-Grébizi, and Haut-Mbomou prefectures in Central African Republic, where protracted insurgency and conflict have weakened the health systems and increased barriers to careseeking.