PAI SRHR & Covid-19 Pariyojna
The PAI SRHR & Covid-19 Pariyojna is a collaborative project between Vinod Kumar, Swabhiman Samiti, and Sahayog, Lucknow. This initiative aims to ensure the continuity of reproductive and sexual health services for women in rural areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. Focused on family planning, safe delivery, and safe termination, the project engages community leaders and health workers to monitor, provide support, and advocate for essential services. The project runs from 1st December 2020 to 15th November 2021, ensuring women's health needs are met despite the pandemic's challenges.
Key Highlights:
- Target Area: Rural communities, specifically focused on women in need of reproductive health services
- Key Services: Family planning, safe delivery, safe termination, and support for gender-based violence victims
SS
Project Overview
The "Ensuring Continuity in the Provision of Women's Reproductive and Sexual Health Services during the Covid Pandemic" project, also known as the PAI SRHR & Covid-19 Pariyojna, is a collaborative effort between Vinod Kumar, Swabhiman Samiti, and Sahayog, Lucknow. The project focuses on maintaining the continuity of reproductive and sexual health services for women in rural areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. Key services such as family planning, safe delivery, and safe termination are critical, and the project aims to provide these services through help desks, community leader involvement, and advocacy with local government officials. The project will run from 1st December 2020 to 15th November 2021.
Objectives
• Provision of Reproductive Health Services:
Ensure continuous access to reproductive and sexual health services, including family planning, safe delivery, and safe termination, through a help desk and community support.
• Monitor Health Services:
Track and monitor reproductive and sexual health services provided during rural health and nutrition days, facilitated by community leader women.
• Advocacy for Reproductive Health:
Engage in fact-based advocacy at the block and district levels to ensure the continuation of essential reproductive and sexual health services, linking these services to the government’s COVID-19 response efforts.
Background and Rationale
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread disruptions in healthcare services, particularly affecting the availability of reproductive health services. This project aims to bridge the gap caused by these disruptions by ensuring the continuity of vital services like family planning and safe delivery in rural areas. The pandemic has exacerbated challenges, including limited access to health services, economic constraints, and increased gender-based violence. This collaborative effort seeks to address these issues by engaging community leaders, providing information, and advocating for the inclusion of reproductive health in the government’s pandemic response.
Planned Outreach
The outreach will focus on rural areas, with efforts directed towards ensuring that women continue to receive reproductive health services throughout the pandemic. Community leaders, health workers, and local stakeholders such as ASHA workers, ANMs, and Panchayats will be involved in ensuring the provision of services, addressing incidents of violence, and raising awareness about available health services. The help desks will act as a primary point of contact for women in need of reproductive health support.
Key Strategies
• Help Desk Setup:
Establish help desks in rural areas to provide critical reproductive health information and services related to family planning, safe delivery, and safe termination.
• Community Leader Engagement:
Engage women community leaders to help monitor and ensure the continuity of services during rural health and nutrition days.
• Government Advocacy:
Advocate with block and district-level officials to include reproductive and sexual health services as part of the government’s COVID response strategy.
• Support for Women Facing Violence:
Provide immediate support to women and girls facing gender-based violence, offering legal, medical, and social assistance.
Core Activities
• Monthly Review Meetings:
Conduct monthly review meetings with Field Facilitators (FF) and help desk volunteers to assess progress and overcome challenges.
• Monitoring Help Desks:
Regularly monitor and support help desk activities to ensure they remain functional and effective in providing reproductive health services.
• Training Stakeholders:
Provide training to community leaders, health workers, and volunteers on handling reproductive health issues and responding to gender-based violence.
• Reporting and Documentation:
Maintain detailed records of activities, incidents, and financial aspects, submitting monthly reports to Sahayog.
Achievements and Outcomes
• Service Continuity:
Over 350 women received uninterrupted access to essential reproductive health services, including family planning and safe delivery.
• Improved Access to Services:
Women accessed vital information and services through the established help desks and through advocacy efforts.
• Successful Advocacy:
Local government stakeholders were engaged and supported in prioritizing reproductive health services in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Immediate Support for Violence Victims:
Cases of gender-based violence were addressed with immediate intervention and support provided to affected women.
Conclusion
The PAI SRHR & Covid-19 Pariyojna has successfully ensured the continuation of reproductive and sexual health services for women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through collaboration with community leaders, health workers, and local stakeholders, the project has maintained access to vital services, raised awareness about reproductive health, and addressed gender-based violence. The ongoing support of local stakeholders and government entities has been critical to the success of the project, and further efforts will be necessary to ensure that women continue to receive the care and support they need. Expanding the outreach and strengthening the advocacy and collaboration will be essential in sustaining these efforts beyond the pandemic.