Research, data collection and analysis.

 RECOMMENDATIONS.

Strengthen research, data collection, monitoring and evaluation to guide comprehensive policies, planning and implementation of maternal and newborn health programmes; 

 Develop, strengthen and integrate within national health information systems routine reviews of maternal and perinatal deaths and near-miss cases, such as obstetric fistula, as part of national maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response systems; 

 Develop community-based and facility-based mechanisms for the systematic notification of obstetric fistula cases to ministries of health and the recording of those cases in a national register, and acknowledge fistula as a nationally notifiable condition, triggering immediate reporting, tracking and follow-up, using a human rights-based approach; 

 Provide an enabling environment for social accountability by ensuring access to information on policies, programmes, budgets and specific services to prevent and address obstetric fistula and by developing the capacity of women, youth - led and disability rights organizations to monitor their implementation and engage with public officials in advocating for policy change;

 Expand the scope of maternal death surveillance to include obstetric fistula as a maternal health quality indicator and incorporate response mechanisms to review and address systemic failures in relation to maternal morbidities;

 Develop the capacity of independent human rights bodies, including national human rights institutions, to monitor obstetric fistula as a human rights issue and to address related human rights violations;

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Actions taken by the international community: progress made and challenges ahead.

A. Prevention strategies and interventions to achieve maternal and newborn health and eliminate obstetric fistula. The global Campaign to End Fistula , launched in 2003 by UNFPA and partners, focuses on four key strategies: prevention, treatment, social reintegration and advocacy. The Campaign is active in more than 55 countries and brings together nearly 100 partners with the aim of eradicating fistula globally. UNFPA leads the Campaign and serves as the secretariat of the International Obstetric Fistula Working Group, the main decision-making body of the Campaign. Since 2003, UNFPA has provided direct support for over 129,000 fistula repairs, and partners, such as EngenderHealth, the Fistula Foundation, the Freedom from Fistula Foundation, Direct Relief, the United Nations Federal Credit Union Foundation, Focus Fistula, Women and Health Alliance International and the Kupona Foundation, have provided support for thousands more. UNFPA and the Campaign to End Fistula were awarded the Un...
Read more

Reintegration strategies and interventions.

RECOMMENDATIONS  Ensure holistic social reintegration services for all fistula survivors , including those deemed incurable or inoperable, including health care, counselling, education, socioeconomic empowerment and family and community support;  Develop and strengthen systems and follow-up mechanisms to make fistula a nationally notifiable condition , including indicators to track the well-being and reintegration of fistula survivors, ensuring a human rights-based approach;  Develop strategies to include community engagement to assist women in preventing another fistula after successful repai r, including through education, family planning and caesarean delivery planning;
Read more

Financial support for universal access to fistula prevention and care.

RECOMMENDATIONS  Increase national budgets for health care and invite the international community to assist with national efforts , upon request, ensuring that adequate funds are allocated to universal access to health care, including strengthening health systems to provide essential maternal health services (high-quality family planning, prenatal, emergency obstetric and postnatal care, and skilled birth attendance) to women and girls, including those living in underserved rural areas where obstetric fistula is most common;  Ensure that national policies and programmes address inequities and reach poor and vulnerable women and girls who are at increased risk , owing to worsened poverty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including through the provision of targeted financial relief; the provision of free or adequately subsidized maternal and newborn health-care and fistula treatment under a framework of universal health coverage; and opportunities for community engagement and act...
Read more