Message from the director of SRH / HRP

Ian Askew, Director, Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, including UNDP-UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special Program on Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction

Happy New Year! I hope the last few weeks have offered some moments of break and rest. At HRP, we are energetic, determined and look forward to continuing with you the important job of ensuring that every person can achieve the highest possible level of sexual and reproductive health and rights.

The COVID-19 pandemic, and in particular the disruptions in national health systems it has caused, are expanded the scope of our work in HRP – but has also focused global attention on the challenges of gender inequality, the protection of human rights and the reduction of inequalities in access to services. These are the challenges that have always characterized the work of HRP.

For example, on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in December, HRP and WHO presented RESPECT implementation package with UN Women. This underscores the continuing need for our work to prevent violence against women and manage its health consequences – at the same time as highlighting new resources on addressing gender-based violence in the context of a pandemic.

We recently launched The right to a better world, a documentary series produced by HRP and WHO in partnership with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Oxford Center for Human Rights (OxHRH). This powerful series explores how the tactics developed by the human rights movement are crucial to achieving sexual and reproductive health rights. Health is a human right, and The right to a better world there are many powerful stories about how human rights frameworks can strengthen the effectiveness of global efforts towards meeting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Many of us experience this sense of life ‘on break’ due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this is especially true for children and adolescents. The pandemic disrupts their education, disrupts their friendships and relationships and, especially for girls, increases household responsibilities and care. For some, it increases vulnerability to abuse and violence. HRP and WHO collaborated with UNFPA on a technical summary entitled NOT ON BREAK: Responding to the needs of SRH adolescents in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, with practical guidance on what can be done to provide adolescents and young people with a comprehensive education on sexuality, as well as other SRH interventions.

This is, of course, a long-standing challenge and I was very pleased to speak at a recent webinar with other UN and government representatives, as well as several youth representatives, launching the first International technical and programmatic guidelines on comprehensive out-of-school sex education. HRP and WHO are particularly pleased to have provided evidence for this important document from this research.

Infertility is a social and public health problem that is too often neglected and stigmatized. More affordable, affordable and affordable services are urgently needed to address infertility worldwide, such as this new research from HRP and WHO shows. I am pleased to say that the Infertility Guidelines Development Group met online late last year, taking major steps to develop these long-overdue global guidelines that should help countries develop and improve services and care for the millions of people living with infertility. and its consequences.

On Universal Health Coverage Day in December, we celebrated the launch WHO UHC Journal of Health Interventions and stressed the importance of integrating sexual and reproductive health services into UHC national planning. Colleagues in Burkina Faso and Thailand they shared how they achieve this, and in some cases even raising the level of service delivery during a pandemic – very inspiring.

December was also an exciting month for our joint work in an effort to mobilize a new era of maternal and perinatal health, in which women’s values ​​and preferences are at the heart of their own concern.

In December FIGO African Regional Congress in Kigali we introduced Prenatal care portal, A “one-stop shop” for evidence and tools to support the adaptation and implementation of WHO ANC recommendations. This will be a key link between policy makers, health professionals and women and will be updated regularly, reflecting our approach to maternal health as a “guideline for life”.

We also launched new Occupational Care Guide and the accompanying User Manual, tools for implementing WHO recommendations on intrapartum care in practice. The Occupational Care Guide revises and replaces the traditional WHO partograph, an important step forward in individualized evidence-based occupational care.

It saddens our community the recent death of Dr. Alexander Kessler, Co-founder and first director of HRP in 1972. Alex’s dynamic and determined leadership and his truly global commitment to improving the lives of people around the world continue to live through HRP’s commitment to rigorous research, international collaboration, and sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.

2021 begins with much-needed positive news, as the United States commits itself to remain a member of the WHO. In particular, we celebrate announcement of support for the sexual and reproductive health of women and girls and reproductive rights in the United States, as well as globally, and the repeal of Mexico City policy.

However, before you turn the page in 2020, I advise you to visit HRP on Twitter and join us in looking back at some of the highlights of this challenging year with the hashtag # #SRHR stories. We thank you for your collegiality, expertise and support. It is wonderful to see how we as a global community have come together and done a lot to support sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.