Archive for: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights


The effects of global climate change are being felt disproportionately in the world’s poorest countries, where people are the least able to cope. As climate change adaptation strategies gain international attention, it is important to show how people are dealing with the effects of climate change, how they could become more resilient to these effects, and how people and communities can adapt to climate change. Using qualitative methods, PAI, in collaboration with Miz-Hsab Research Center and the Joint Global Change Research Institute, explored how Ethiopian communities react to and cope with climate variation, which groups are the most vulnerable, what resources communities need to adapt to climate change, and the role of family planning and reproductive health in increasing resilience to climate change impacts. This study was one of the first to explore the linkages of population, fertility and family size with aspects of vulnerability and resilience to climate change.

Year: 2009

Source: PAI

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    This study presents Blue Ventures’ experiences incorporating sexual and reproductive health services within a pre-existing community-based marine conservation initiative in Madagascar as part of an integrated population, health and environment (PHE) programme. The findings emphasize the mutually beneficial synergies, supporting both public health and conservation objectives, which can be created by integrating sexual and reproductive health services into more conventional biodiversity conservation activities. This PHE approach demonstrates the inextricable link between reproductive health and resource use by providing practical, immediate and lasting benefits to public health, gender equity, food security and biodiversity conservation.

    Year: 2012

    Source: Oryx—The International Journal of Conservation

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      This peer-reviewed journal article on the value added of PHE approaches describes a quasi-experimental design used by the IPOPCORM project in the Philippines to test the hypothesis that there will be a significant improvement in both coastal resource management (CRM) and human reproductive health (RH) outcomes by delivering these services in an integrated manner as opposed to delivering either in isolation. The CRM, RH and integrated CRM+RH interventions were tested in three island municipalities of Palawan. Pre-project (2001) and post-project (2007) measurements of dependent variables were gathered via biophysical and community household surveys. The results support the project’s central hypothesis that integrated coastal resource management and family planning delivered simultaneously and with community involvement generate greater impact than stand alone interventions.

      Year: 2010

      Source: Environmental Conservation

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        Pathfinder International and partners in Kenya and Uganda have implemented the Health of the People and Environment in the Lake Victoria Basin (HoPE-LVB) project since 2011. The project aims to scale up its use of the population, health, and environment (PHE) community-development model at local, national, and regional levels by integrating PHE considerations in formal government development planning and policies. “PHE” refers to the PHE approach, which aspires to increase access to comprehensive reproductive health services and improve maternal and child health care practices while simultaneously improving natural resource management in project communities.

        On April 30th, 2019, HoPE-LVB project implementers and evaluators discussed the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) evaluation report on the model’s effectiveness and scalability. Released in April 2018, the USAID report addresses three key questions:

        • What are stakeholders’ perceptions of the HoPE-LVB project model’s added value to family planning and reproductive health, maternal and child health, livelihoods, governance, natural resources management, or conservation?
        • Has the HoPE-LVB project’s explicit focus on systematic planning for scale-up resulted in positive outcomes for the model’s institutionalization, sustainability, and expansion?
        • To what extent did the HoPE-LVB project achieve its objectives as measured by its key performance indicators/results?

        The evaluation of HoPE-LVB had been long anticipated, as the project was supported by cross-sectoral investments by multiple donors and represents a pioneering East African PHE project implemented at scale.

        The webinar, scheduled at 9:00 a.m. EST on April 30, 2019, was hosted by the PACE (Policy, Advocacy, and Communication Enhanced for Population and Reproductive Health) project. It included the following speakers:

        • Clive Mutunga of USAID provided introductory remarks on USAID’s support for PHE models globally and what USAID learned from the evaluation of HoPE-LVB.
        • Eileen Mokaya of Pathfinder International provided an overview of the HoPE-LVB project.
        • Richard Kibombo of Global Health Program Cycle Improvement Project (GH Pro) shared the evaluation’s results and his suggested next steps for PHE sustainability and scale-up.

        Year: 2019

        Source: Pathfinder International | Population Reference Bureau

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          A successful population, health, and environment (PHE) project requires the full and equal participation of women and girls and men and boys. In order to address the urgent, interconnected challenges in the Lake Victoria Basin—poor maternal and child health, a lack of access to contraception, dwindling fish supply, deforestation, and more—interventions must also work towards gender equality. Women must be able to exercise their right to sexual and reproductive health care services, including their ability to choose if or when to have children. They must be able to participate in income-generating activities, which improve their economic situation and better equip them to protect their families and the natural resources they depend on. The Health of People and the Environment in the Lake Victoria Basin (HoPE-LVB) project works to promote gender equality. HoPE-LVB implements a range of activities, including training women’s and young mother’s groups on integrated health and conservation practices and conducting community dialogue sessions surrounding the intersection between gender, sexual and reproductive health, and the environment to bridge gender divides and encourage input and support from all community members.

          Year: 2014

          Source: Pathfinder International

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            From a range of interviews, observations, and desk reviews of documents this publication presents lessons learned from Conservation International (CI) and Cooperative for Assistance Relief Everywhere (CARE)’s health care and conservation initiative in the Cardamom Mountains Region of Cambodia. The primary focus is on elements of CI’s Population Health Environment (PHE) interventions involving reproductive health/family planning activities and conservation in partnership with CARE-Cambodia to deliver family planning, reproductive and general health services in southwestern Cambodia.

            Year: 2008

            Source: Conservation International

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              The largest absolute numbers of maternal deaths occur among the 40–50 million women who deliver annually without a skilled birth attendant. Most of these deaths occur in countries with a total fertility rate greater than 4. The combination of global warming and rapid population growth in the Sahel and parts of the Middle East poses a serious threat to reproductive health and food security. Poverty, lack of resources, and rapid population growth make it unlikely that most women in these countries will have access to skilled birth attendants or emergency obstetric care in the foreseeable future. Three strategies can be implemented to improve women’s health and reproductive rights in high-fertility, low-resource settings: (1) make family planning accessible and remove non-evidence-based barriers to contraception; (2) scale up community distribution of misoprostol for prevention of postpartum hemorrhage and, where it is legal, for medical abortion; and (3) eliminate child marriage and invest in girls and young women, thereby reducing early childbearing.

              Year: 2012

              Source: International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics

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                Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park, known historically for its biodiversity, was devastated by years of war. To help restore the park to its former state, in 2008, the Gregory Carr Foundation entered into a 20-year agreement with the Mozambique government via the Gorongosa Restoration Project. Key objectives were: protection of the Park’s biodiversity and natural ecosystem processes, and poverty alleviation through ecotourism and other Park benefits. An underlying assumption was that a healthy ecosystem would provide the foundation for economic and social development. An Ecohealth program was incorporated to address health problems contributing to poverty. With support from USAID and Mt Sinai Hospital, an integrated (PHE) package of services was provided including family planning/reproductive health and maternal and child health interventions. In 2012, a midterm evaluation was commissioned by USAID to assess the extent to which Ecohealth was reaching its objectives and to identify “best practices” for replication and sharing with other integrated efforts worldwide.

                Year: 2013

                Source: Evaluation and Research Technologies for Health

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                  The USAID Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy 2014­–2025 prioritizes family planning and reproductive health services (FP/RH) as nutrition-sensitive interventions that address the underlying and systemic causes of malnutrition. However, there is limited peer reviewed literature and a dearth of documentation on how to best integrate FP with food security and nutrition programming. To address this gap, FANTA conducted an extensive desk review to identify and synthesize programmatic experiences, including integration models, platforms, contact points, and providers used for integrated service delivery. This report synthesizes learnings from 102 health and multisectoral programs, including a rich set of program examples and three case studies, to illustrate the ways programs integrate family planning with nutrition and food security interventions. A third of the multisectoral programs included in the review and one cast study were PHE programs. The report and brief also include lessons learned, promising practices for programming, and recommendations for USAID.

                  Year: 2015

                  Source: FHI 360

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                    The realisation of the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of women and girls and the advancement of gender equality are inherently linked to sustainable population and climate change. It is well documented that women and girls are most affected by climate vulnerability, and that their reproductive health and rights are negatively impacted by climate change. In this paper, we propose that providing reproductive choice can improve the health and resilience of women and their communities, enhancing their ability to prepare for and adapt to climate change. Providing family planning to women wishing to delay or cease child bearing can also contribute to sustainable population growth, decrease consumption and lower emissions. As a practical solution to climate challenges, sexual and reproductive health interventions should be integrated into climate change and development programs, particularly in areas vulnerable to climate change such as the Asia Pacific region.

                    Year: 2017

                    Source: Marie Stopes International Australia

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