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Introduction Of Quality Of Care And A Gender Perspective In Reproductive Health Service Organizations In Latin America And The Caribbean, Patricia Riveros, Antonieta Martin, Ricardo Vernon Jan 2008

Introduction Of Quality Of Care And A Gender Perspective In Reproductive Health Service Organizations In Latin America And The Caribbean, Patricia Riveros, Antonieta Martin, Ricardo Vernon

Reproductive Health

In 2005 and with the technical assistance of the Frontiers in Reproductive Health (FRONTIERS) Program, the Integrated Health Coordination Program (PROCOSI), a Bolivian network of 33 nongovernmental organizations, designed and tested a set of four guidelines to help organizations deliver high-quality reproductive health services with a gender perspective. The guidelines were: 1) to present a strategy to certify organizations as “gender sensitive” healthcare providers; 2) to present the knowledge staff members should know to be certified; 3) to describe procedures to collect and analyze the data to evaluate implementation of the strategy; and 4) to describe how to assess strategy …


Assessment Of Progress Of The Postabortion Care Initiative In Francophone Africa, Thierno Dieng, Mohamed Diadhiou, Nafissatou J. Diop, Youmane Niang Faye Jan 2008

Assessment Of Progress Of The Postabortion Care Initiative In Francophone Africa, Thierno Dieng, Mohamed Diadhiou, Nafissatou J. Diop, Youmane Niang Faye

Reproductive Health

The goals of this study were to assess the national situation concerning postabortion care (PAC) in six countries (Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo), including the process of introduction, integration and decentralization of PAC; the successes and obstacles in the process of introducing PAC; and recommended key steps to strengthen the introductory process. The study used two approaches: a comprehensive review of the introduction and institutionalization of PAC in the six countries, and a situation analysis of PAC services within each country.


Technical Assistance For Implementing Best Practices In The Asia And Near East Region, M.E. Khan, Sohini Roychowdhury, Mary Philip Sebastian, Sitanshu Sekhar Kar, Anurag Mishra, Vivek Sharma, G. Narayana, Bhawana Sharma, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab, Ahmed Afifi Jan 2008

Technical Assistance For Implementing Best Practices In The Asia And Near East Region, M.E. Khan, Sohini Roychowdhury, Mary Philip Sebastian, Sitanshu Sekhar Kar, Anurag Mishra, Vivek Sharma, G. Narayana, Bhawana Sharma, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab, Ahmed Afifi

Reproductive Health

The Population Council's Frontiers in Reproductive Health (FRONTIERS) program offered technical assistance to any Asia Near East (ANE) country mission interested in funding adaptation of USAID‟s “best practices” in family planning or reproductive health. The ANE Bureau provided funding for the costs of FRONTIERS technical assistance. The overall objective of this study was to replicate and scale up "best practices" based on findings from FRONTIERS. The specific objectives were to institutionalize the Systematic Screening Instrument in the entire state of Uttarakhand, India; to strenghten emergency contraceptive pills service provision in Uttarakhand, India; and to enhance the use of Lactational Amenorrhea …


Using Operations Research To Enhance Delivery Of Postpartum/Postabortion Family Planning Services In The Arab Region, Frontiers In Reproductive Health Jan 2008

Using Operations Research To Enhance Delivery Of Postpartum/Postabortion Family Planning Services In The Arab Region, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

The FRONTIERS program in Cairo organized a two-and-half day workshop to share programmatic experiences and lessons learned in integrating family planning with service providers from Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, and Yemen representing mid-level program managers and researchers. It was held in 2008 in tandem with a national end-of-project seminar for stakeholders in Egypt. Participants emphasized the need to capture missed opportunities in antenatal, delivery, postpartum or postabortion care by providing family planning services in all encounters between women and the health care system. They also agreed on an overarching need for operations research in assisting policy makers and program managers in …


Managing And Preventing Female Genital Cutting (Fgm/C) Among The Somali Community In Kenya, Maryam Sheikh Abdi, Jaldesa Guyo, Ian Askew Jan 2008

Managing And Preventing Female Genital Cutting (Fgm/C) Among The Somali Community In Kenya, Maryam Sheikh Abdi, Jaldesa Guyo, Ian Askew

Reproductive Health

This report details the Council’s innovative work with religious leaders to reduce the practice of FGM/C in the Somali community in Northern Kenya. In the mid to late 2000s, through the USAID Frontiers project, the Council successfully engaged religious leaders and scholars as community educators to correct the customary misconception that FGM/C is a requirement of Islam. Through sermons and training sessions, these leaders were able to dis-associate FGM/C from Islam, raise public awareness about the harms associated with the practice, and encourage its abandonment.


Evaluation Of The Long-Term Impact Of The Tostan Programme On The Abandonment Of Fgm/C And Early Marriage: Results From A Qualitative Study In Senegal, Nafissatou J. Diop, Amadou Moreau, Helene Benga Jan 2008

Evaluation Of The Long-Term Impact Of The Tostan Programme On The Abandonment Of Fgm/C And Early Marriage: Results From A Qualitative Study In Senegal, Nafissatou J. Diop, Amadou Moreau, Helene Benga

Reproductive Health

In 1998–99, a village empowerment program was implemented in the Thiès/Fatick and Kolda regions of Senegal by the nongovernmental organization Tostan, to mobilize communities to hold public declarations in support of abandoning harmful traditional practices, including female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and child marriage. The information presented in this report indicates that many did end the practices following a public declaration, however, the lack of follow-up in the field and the absence of support mechanisms pose a large obstacle. Nevertheless, the program achieved significant results: knowledge of life skills resulting in positive changes and a shift in the perception of FGM/C …


Taking Critical Services To The Home: Scaling-Up Home-Based Maternal And Postnatal Care, Including Family Planning, Through Community Midwifery In Kenya, Annie Mwangi, Charlotte E. Warren Jan 2008

Taking Critical Services To The Home: Scaling-Up Home-Based Maternal And Postnatal Care, Including Family Planning, Through Community Midwifery In Kenya, Annie Mwangi, Charlotte E. Warren

Reproductive Health

With support from USAID, the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health (FRONTIERS) project supported the scaling up of a community-based model in Kenya that enabled women to give birth safely at home or be referred to a hospital when attended by a self-employed skilled midwife living in the community. To strengthen the sustainability of this approach FRONTIERS engaged a microfinance NGO to develop a training curriculum on basic business skills and financial literacy, and encouraged the community midwives (CMs) to form clusters or informal associations so that they could be trained in business skills. Following these interventions, CMs proved more …


Feasibility, Acceptability, Effect, And Cost Of Integrating Counseling And Testing For Hiv Within Family Planning Services In Kenya, Wilson Liambila, Charlotte E. Warren, Saiqa Mullick, Ian Askew, Rick Homan, Ibrahim Mohammed, Robert Ayisi, Margaret Gitau, Josephine Kibaru, Mary W. Gathitu, Judith Maua, Helton Jilo, Juma Mwangi, John Njoroge, Anthony K. Wanyoro, Peter Mohammed Njuguna, Andrew Mboche Jan 2008

Feasibility, Acceptability, Effect, And Cost Of Integrating Counseling And Testing For Hiv Within Family Planning Services In Kenya, Wilson Liambila, Charlotte E. Warren, Saiqa Mullick, Ian Askew, Rick Homan, Ibrahim Mohammed, Robert Ayisi, Margaret Gitau, Josephine Kibaru, Mary W. Gathitu, Judith Maua, Helton Jilo, Juma Mwangi, John Njoroge, Anthony K. Wanyoro, Peter Mohammed Njuguna, Andrew Mboche

Reproductive Health

FRONTIERS supported the Division of Reproductive Health and the National AIDS and STI Control Program of the Kenya Ministry of Health to design, implement, and compare two models of integrating counseling and testing (CT) for HIV within family planning (FP) services in terms of their feasibility, acceptability, cost, and effect on the voluntary use of CT, as well as the quality of FP services. The study demonstrated that both models were feasible and acceptable to providers and to clients as means of integrating and linking HIV prevention counseling, condom promotion, and counseling and testing with FP services, and are effective …


Empowering Communities To Make Pregnancy Safer: An Intervention In Rural Andhra Pradesh, Dipa Sinha Jan 2008

Empowering Communities To Make Pregnancy Safer: An Intervention In Rural Andhra Pradesh, Dipa Sinha

Reproductive Health

Recognizing that multiple factors are responsible for adverse pregnancy-related outcomes, a community-based intervention was implemented in Mominpet, in Andhra Pradesh, India in collaboration with the M.V. Foundation, a nongovernmental organization. The intervention focused on improving maternal health outcomes by raising awareness and building family and community support for pregnant women; involving pregnant women’s families, notably their husbands, in pregnancy-related care; and supporting pregnant women to access health services. This report describes the experience and outcomes of the intervention. In particular, it explores the extent to which the intervention was effective in increasing community support for safe motherhood on the one …


Senegal: Education And Public Declarations Contribute To Tostan's Success, Population Council Jan 2008

Senegal: Education And Public Declarations Contribute To Tostan's Success, Population Council

Reproductive Health

In 1998, the nongovernmental organization Tostan implemented a village empowerment program in southern and western Senegal to help communities, especially women, improve living and health conditions in their villages, and to mobilize villages to hold public declarations supporting abandonment of harmful practices, particularly female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and child marriage. The program included modules on hygiene, literacy and numeracy, human rights, and children’s and women’s health. The Tostan approach has since been implemented more broadly in Senegal and in Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Sudan. In 2005–06, FRONTIERS evaluated the long-term impact of the program, focusing on the abandonment of FGM/C …


Kenya: Training Can Enhance Providers' Management Of Fgm/C And Willingness To Advocate Against The Practice, Population Council Jan 2008

Kenya: Training Can Enhance Providers' Management Of Fgm/C And Willingness To Advocate Against The Practice, Population Council

Reproductive Health

In 2004, FRONTIERS collaborated with UNICEF on a study of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in Kenya’s Somali community and on ways of managing maternal care for cut women. The study showed that the health-care system in North Eastern Province, where many Somalis live, is ill prepared to deal with women who have been cut, particularly infibulated women who are pregnant or delivering. The study recommended improving providers’ ability to counsel and treat pregnant cut women as part of an overall improvement of maternal care, and strengthening providers’ role as behavior change agents within communities. In 2005, FRONTIERS launched an intervention …


Dominican Republic, Haiti, Nicaragua: Promoting Family Planning During The Postpartum Period Can Increase Contraceptive Acceptance, Population Council Jan 2008

Dominican Republic, Haiti, Nicaragua: Promoting Family Planning During The Postpartum Period Can Increase Contraceptive Acceptance, Population Council

Reproductive Health

The World Health Organization recommends that women receive information on family planning (FP) during antenatal care (ANC), immediately after birth, and during postpartum and well-baby care. However, few studies have assessed the effect of information during each of these stages on women’s use of contraceptive methods. Data collected by FRONTIERS in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nicaragua have been analyzed to answer this question. Use of maternal care services, exposure to FP information, and use of postpartum contraception varies among countries. All women interviewed in the Dominican Republic attended ANC services and delivered in a facility; ANC use and institutional …


Africa Regional Sexual And Gender-Based Violence Network Consultation: Technical Exchange And Planning Meeting, Population Council Jan 2008

Africa Regional Sexual And Gender-Based Violence Network Consultation: Technical Exchange And Planning Meeting, Population Council

Reproductive Health

In March 2008, the Population Council brought together members of the Africa Regional Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) Network for a South-South technical exchange meeting. The objectives were to identify best practices from existing programs, provide an evidence base for new programming, and develop mechanisms for South-South technical assistance. As detailed in this report, discussions covered the medical, legal, and psychosocial issues associated with SGBV prevention and response activities. Participants identified the following: Protocols and guidance documents are essential for ensuring comprehensive, quality response at all levels. Enabling access and utilization of the full range of medical services remains …


Assessing Routine Health Information System In Selected Paiman Districts By Using Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (Lqas) Technique, Pakistan Initiative For Mothers And Newborns (Paiman) Jan 2008

Assessing Routine Health Information System In Selected Paiman Districts By Using Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (Lqas) Technique, Pakistan Initiative For Mothers And Newborns (Paiman)

Reproductive Health

The Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns (PAIMAN) is a five-year project funded by USAID. Its goal is to reduce maternal and newborn mortality in Pakistan through viable initiatives and capacity building of existing programs and structures within health systems and communities to ensure improvements and supportive linkages in the continuum of health care for women from the home to the hospital. PAIMAN is compiling data from three data sources and making efforts to improve the functioning of these Health Information Systems (HISs) for efficient management of health services at the district level through generation of quality data and their …


Situation Analysis Of The Integration Of Family Planning Services In Postpartum, Postabortion And Prevention Of Mother To Child Transmission Programs In Nicaragua, Freddy Solis, Ana Del Carmen Rojas, Gadea Adilia, M. Estela Rivero-Fuentes, Ricardo Vernon Jan 2008

Situation Analysis Of The Integration Of Family Planning Services In Postpartum, Postabortion And Prevention Of Mother To Child Transmission Programs In Nicaragua, Freddy Solis, Ana Del Carmen Rojas, Gadea Adilia, M. Estela Rivero-Fuentes, Ricardo Vernon

Reproductive Health

Between September 2005 and April 2007, FRONTIERS and Alva, a Nicaraguan consulting firm, conducted a situation analysis of the provision and use of contraceptive services in postpartum, postabortion and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programs. The project‘s objective was to assess the degree to which contraceptive services were linked to postpartum, postabortion and PMTCT services and if this allowed the programs to meet the contraceptive needs of their clients. The project proposes recommendations for improving the quality of these programs.


Exploring Positive Women's Lives In Namakkal District, India, P. Kousalya, Deepika Ganju Jan 2008

Exploring Positive Women's Lives In Namakkal District, India, P. Kousalya, Deepika Ganju

Reproductive Health

This report describes an initiative that was undertaken to document the experiences of HIV-positive ever-married women in Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu, India. The initiative sought to explore the circumstances in which women learned about their HIV status; their feelings on finding out they were HIV-positive; the nature of husband–wife relationships prior to and following disclosure of women’s HIV status; the extent of support or discrimination that women experienced from family members, friends, and neighbors; treatment-seeking behaviors; and women’s perspectives about ways in which the multiple needs of HIV-infected women can be met. Drawing on the testimonies of these women gathered …


Meeting The Family Planning Needs Of Postpartum Women, Ricardo Vernon Jan 2008

Meeting The Family Planning Needs Of Postpartum Women, Ricardo Vernon

Reproductive Health

The first days, weeks, and months after a delivery represent a period of substantial information and service needs for both mother and child, including treatment of hemorrhage and infections, breastfeeding information and support, nutritional complements and micronutrients, immunizations for children and mothers, counseling for managing intimate partner violence and depression, and, most importantly, contraception. In areas of high HIV prevalence, contraceptives and antiretroviral therapy are especially critical elements of postpartum care. Yet despite its strategic importance, few organizations have made it a priority to address women's reproductive health and fertility needs during the year following delivery. The situation is compounded …


Assessing The Need And Opportunities For Improved Linkages Between Conditional Cash Transfers And Reproductive Health Programs In Latin America And The Caribbean, Ricardo Vernon, M. Estela Rivero-Fuentes Jan 2008

Assessing The Need And Opportunities For Improved Linkages Between Conditional Cash Transfers And Reproductive Health Programs In Latin America And The Caribbean, Ricardo Vernon, M. Estela Rivero-Fuentes

Reproductive Health

The objective of this project was to document the structure and functioning of conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs in Latin America and the Caribbean, to assess opportunities for improved linkages between CCTs and reproductive health programs, and to explore the role that operations research may have in the improvement of CCT programs. Activities were conducted in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and Peru. Operational problems identified by CCT programs included the targeting and selection of beneficiaries, monitoring compliance with conditions for receiving cash transfers, the systems used to provide the transfers, and management weaknesses. Recommendations are made …


Multisectoral Youth Rh Interventions: The Scale-Up Process In Kenya And Senegal, Stephanie Joyce, Ian Askew, Anta Fall Diagne, Nafissatou J. Diop, Humphres Evelia Jan 2008

Multisectoral Youth Rh Interventions: The Scale-Up Process In Kenya And Senegal, Stephanie Joyce, Ian Askew, Anta Fall Diagne, Nafissatou J. Diop, Humphres Evelia

Reproductive Health

As in many developing countries, young people in Kenya and Senegal (aged 10–20) account for about 25 percent of the population. To ensure their future contribution to their countries, it is of vital strategic importance to safeguard their welfare. Rapid social change in both countries exposes youth to sexual and reproductive health (RH) risks, including unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, and sexual violence. Beginning in 1999, the Population Council’s FRONTIERS program conducted operations research studies that tested the feasibility, acceptability, and cost of a public-sector, multisectoral intervention to enhance young people’s RH knowledge and behavior. Study findings showed …


Profile Of Abortion Seekers In Ghana And Their Decision-Making Processes, Philomena Nyarko, Cletus Adohinzin, Saumya Ramarao, Placide Tapsoba, Ayorinde Ajayi Jan 2008

Profile Of Abortion Seekers In Ghana And Their Decision-Making Processes, Philomena Nyarko, Cletus Adohinzin, Saumya Ramarao, Placide Tapsoba, Ayorinde Ajayi

Reproductive Health

In 2006, a consortium of agencies, including the Population Council, came together to provide technical and financial support to the Government of Ghana in the rollout of comprehensive abortion care (CAC) services. The consortium collaborated with the government in expanding women’s access to modern family planning and CAC. The consortium’s program, Reducing Maternal Mortality and Morbidity (R3M), aims to reduce unwanted pregnancy and severe complications and deaths caused by unsafe abortion. The formative research in this report was undertaken to provide a profile of beneficiaries, their needs for information and services, their decision-making process in seeking care, and the quality …


Burkina Faso: Political Will, Law Enforcement, And Educational Campaigns Appear To Be Reducing Fgm/C, Population Council Jan 2008

Burkina Faso: Political Will, Law Enforcement, And Educational Campaigns Appear To Be Reducing Fgm/C, Population Council

Reproductive Health

In 2006, FRONTIERS collaborated with the National Committee Against the Practice of FGM/C on an analysis of recent trends in female genital mutilation/circumcision (FGM/C) in rural and urban Burkina Faso. The study, conducted to help develop policies and programs for FGM/C abandonment in Burkina Faso and more widely in Africa, had three components: a description of the institutional, political, and programmatic environ­ment in Burkina; a secondary analysis of data from existing studies; and an assessment of the community’s perceptions and behavior regarding FGM/C, as well as the factors that contribute to abandonment or continuation of the practice. For the policy …


Taller Regional De Utilización De Resultados De Investigación Operativa Para Incrementar El Acceso, La Calidad E Integración De Los Servicios Anticonceptivos En América Latina Y El Caribe, M. Estela Rivero-Fuentes, Antonieta Martin Jan 2008

Taller Regional De Utilización De Resultados De Investigación Operativa Para Incrementar El Acceso, La Calidad E Integración De Los Servicios Anticonceptivos En América Latina Y El Caribe, M. Estela Rivero-Fuentes, Antonieta Martin

Reproductive Health

En octubre de 2007, el programa Fronteras de la Salud Reproductiva (FRONTERAS) realizó un taller regional de tres días en La Antigua, Guatemala, para difundir los resultados de sus proyectos de investigación operativa. Durante el taller, los participantes escucharon los avances en la metodología anticonceptiva y escucharon las estrategias efectivas que probó FRONTERAS para incrementar el acceso al DIU y la vasectomía; la integración de la planificación familiar con los servicios posparto, postaborto y PTMI. Los investigadores habloaron sobre los resultados de los estudios, los gerentes de los programas explicaron cómo se usaban los instrumentos y se habló de la …


Increasing Women's Use Of The Iud For Family Planning, Ricardo Vernon Jan 2008

Increasing Women's Use Of The Iud For Family Planning, Ricardo Vernon

Reproductive Health

The intrauterine device (IUD) is highly effective, easy to use, and has few side effects. The device costs the provider about US$2 and offers a duration of protection that makes it the most cost-effective of the temporary methods if used for two years or more. The IUD's many advantages also make it a good alternative for reducing unmet need for long-term contraception around the world. Between 5 and 17 percent of all married women of reproductive age in 53 less developed countries do not want to have more children but are not using a contraceptive method. Because the IUD can …


Adapting Focused Antenatal Care: Lessons From Three African Countries, Harriet Birungi Jan 2008

Adapting Focused Antenatal Care: Lessons From Three African Countries, Harriet Birungi

Reproductive Health

In 2001, the World Health Organization issued guidance on a new model of antenatal care (ANC) called goal-oriented or focused antenatal care (FANC), for implementation in developing countries. The new model reduces the number of required antenatal visits to four, and provides focused services shown to improve maternal outcomes. FANC emphasizes helping women maintain normal pregnancies by identifying existing health conditions, detecting emerging complications, promoting health, preparing for a healthy birth, and educating clients on postpartum care including nutrition, breastfeeding, and family planning. Trials conducted in Argentina, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand proved that FANC was safe and was a …


Dissocier Les Mutilations Génitales Féminines De L'Islam, Ibrahim Lethome Asmani, Maryam Sheikh Abdi Jan 2008

Dissocier Les Mutilations Génitales Féminines De L'Islam, Ibrahim Lethome Asmani, Maryam Sheikh Abdi

Reproductive Health

Les mutilations ou excisions génitales féminines (MGF/E) sont pratiquées dans au moins 28 pays d'Afrique subsaharienne, quelques pays du Moyen-Orient et d'Asie, et parmi les populations immigrées de ces pays en Europe, en Amérique du Nord et en Australie. Dans le monde, on estime que 100 à 140 millions de filles et de femmes ont subi cette pratique, et au moins trois millions de filles sont à risque chaque année. La communauté ethnique somalienne au Kenya ainsi qu'en Somalie, à Djibouti et en Éthiopie pratique l'excision depuis des siècles et la pratique semble être restée largement inchangée. Le programme FRONTIERS …


Assessment Of Knowledge And Attitudes Of Married Women On Maternal And Newborn Health (Mnh) In Selected Union Councils Of Project Districts, Pakistan Initiative For Mothers And Newborns (Paiman) Jan 2008

Assessment Of Knowledge And Attitudes Of Married Women On Maternal And Newborn Health (Mnh) In Selected Union Councils Of Project Districts, Pakistan Initiative For Mothers And Newborns (Paiman)

Reproductive Health

The World Health Organization estimates that 585,000 women die from pregnancy-related conditions each year. Pregnancy-related conditions, including dysfunctional labor, hemorrhage, infection, toxemia, and unsafe abortion, are the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age in many developing countries. The Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns (PAIMAN) is a five-year project funded by USAID. Its goal is to reduce maternal and newborn mortality in Pakistan, through viable initiatives and capacity building of existing programs and structures within health systems and communities to ensure improvements and supportive linkages in the continuum of health care for women from the home to …


South Africa: Integrating Services For Fp And Hiv Improves Quality And Hiv Testing, Population Council Jan 2008

South Africa: Integrating Services For Fp And Hiv Improves Quality And Hiv Testing, Population Council

Reproductive Health

The South African government wishes to expand availability and use of counseling and testing (C&T) for HIV. One option is to integrate C&T into well-attended services, such as family planning (FP). In 2004, the Population Council began a three-year study with the Department of Health in North West Province. The study tested the feasibility, acceptability, and cost of two models for integrating HIV prevention services within established FP programs, and evaluated their quality against standard practice. In the testing-model clinics, providers provided C&T services at the same consultation; in the referral-model clinics, providers offered HIV counseling and referred clients to …


Manual For Building Capacity Of Trainers And Program Managers In Emergency Contraception, Sharif M.I. Hossain, M.E. Khan, Mary Philip Sebastian, Sohini Roychowdhury Jan 2008

Manual For Building Capacity Of Trainers And Program Managers In Emergency Contraception, Sharif M.I. Hossain, M.E. Khan, Mary Philip Sebastian, Sohini Roychowdhury

Reproductive Health

This manual equips trainers with appropriate knowledge on emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs). Emergency contraception (EC) refers to any method of contraception that can be used by a woman to prevent an unwanted pregnancy within three days of unprotected intercourse or a contraceptive accident such as condom leakage. This manual discusses ECPs and the provision of related services. After a day’s training, trainers have the knowledge and skills necessary to train service providers and workers on ECPs. The manual is divided into four sessions. The first provides an overview of the demographic and reproductive health (RH) situation in South and South …


Malaria In Pregnancy Pilot Projects Nationally Adopted In Kenya And Malawi, Population Council Jan 2008

Malaria In Pregnancy Pilot Projects Nationally Adopted In Kenya And Malawi, Population Council

Reproductive Health

Kenya and Malawi have developed national policies to prevent malaria in pregnancy. Measures to prevent malaria among antenatal clients were shown to be sustainable several years after pilot interventions ended. In Malawi, the approach has been expanded nationwide. In most malaria-endemic areas of Africa, women in their first and second pregnancies have the highest risk of acquiring malaria and, consequently, of malaria-associated anemia and low birth-weight. Two USAID-funded interventions aimed at strengthening the prevention and management of malaria in pregnancy were pilot-tested at the district level in Kenya (1998–2002) and Malawi (1998–2004). As noted in this brief, the goal was …


Kenya: Integrating Services For Fp And Hiv Improves Quality And Hiv Testing, Population Council Jan 2008

Kenya: Integrating Services For Fp And Hiv Improves Quality And Hiv Testing, Population Council

Reproductive Health

The Kenyan government’s reproductive health policy highlights service integration and quality of care. While integrating counseling and testing (C&T) for HIV into family planning (FP) can potentially increase the range of services to clients at risk from sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV, few studies have documented the feasibility, effects, or costs of such integration. From 2005–07, the Population Council worked with the Kenyan Ministry of Health to test the feasibility of two models for integrating C&T into existing FP services. Both models featured client education on HIV prevention during FP visits. Providers were trained to routinely use the Balanced …