The Accelerating Choice, Equity, and Sustainability for Services (ACCESS) project launched at the end of September 2024. Funded by USAID, this five-year initiative aims to expand equitable access to high-quality FP/RH services for underserved and marginalized populations through locally led, sustainable, gender-transformative, and youth-responsive solutions that address systemic barriers. ACCESS will work across a variety of contexts in low- and middle-income countries, including at the humanitarian-development nexus and in settings with weakened health systems to help improve access to high-quality, integrated, equitable, and respectful family planning and reproductive health.
Amidst the fall of the Assad regime in early December, IPPF reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to supporting its Member Association, the Syrian Family Planning Association (SFPA), in providing essential SRHR services for all. SRHR services must continue because the need for family planning, maternal healthcare, and gender-based violence support does not diminish, even in the midst of conflict.
How to Practice What You Preach: Practical Considerations for Participatory Global Health Research
Jamilah Sherally et al.This article explores practical considerations for participatory global health research, focusing on involving refugees in studying their own healthcare. Experiences are shared from a project on sexual and reproductive health with refugee women in Lesbos, where co-researchers were recruited, trained, and involved in all aspects of the study. The article provides 18 practical recommendations for researchers, emphasizing trust-building, co-creation, fair compensation, logistical support, relationship-building, and prioritizing mental health, underscoring the importance of inclusivity and respect in participatory research.
Integration of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Humanitarian Issues in East and Southern Africa
2Gether for SRHRThis assessment examines the extent to which humanitarian and SRHR issues are integrated in regional and national humanitarian and SRHR frameworks in East and Southern Africa. This is one of two companion reports and focuses on the integration of SRHR issues into national humanitarian policies and strategies, as well as SRHR frameworks.
No Matter When or Where: Addressing the Need for Continuous Family Planning Services During Shocks and Stressors
Sarah Rich, Lily Jacobi, Nesrine Talbi, et al.PROPEL Adapt, with FP2030 and WRC, recently published an article that emphasizes the critical need for uninterrupted access to family planning services amid escalating global crises, which disproportionately affect women, girls, and marginalized communities. The authors call on global, national, and local partners to strengthen emergency preparedness to facilitate continuous family planning services, no matter when or where they are needed, to support sexual and reproductive health.
Collateral Damage: The Overlooked Reproductive Health Crisis in Conflict Zones
Sylvester Reuben Okeke, Deborah Oluwatosin Okeke-Obayemi, Monicah Ruguru Njoroge, and Sanni YayaConflict-affected regions face severe reproductive health challenges that disproportionately impact adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) and children, who are especially vulnerable due to the breakdown of healthcare systems and limited access to essential services. This integrated approach provides actionable recommendations to improve the well-being of AGYW, children, and other vulnerable populations, fostering sustainable advancements in reproductive health outcomes.