Reproductive Health in Refugee Situations

This United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) Humanitarian Response manual discusses reproductive health (RH) services for populations who are refugees living in emergency situations. The manual addresses refugee needs based on the follow principle of RH intervention: "Reproductive health (RH) care should be available in all situations and be based on the needs and expressed demands of refugees, particularly women, with full respect for the various religious and ethical values and cultural backgrounds of the refugees while also conforming with universally recognised international human rights." The range of RH services needed by refugees includes: family-planning counselling; information, education, and communication (IEC), and services; education and services for prenatal care, safe delivery and post-natal care, and infant and women's health care; prevention and appropriate treatment of infertility; prevention of abortion and the management of the consequences of abortion; treatment of reproductive tract infections, sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS; breast cancer and cancers of the reproductive system, and other reproductive health conditions; and active discouragement of harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation. The manual is written from the perspective of a multi-sectoral integrated approach that involves the refugee community in the development of services. Technical standards included in the manual are those set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Table of Contents includes the following chapters and appendices:

Chapters

1. Fundamental Principles
2. Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP)
3. Safe Motherhood
4. Sexual and Gender-based violence
5. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, including HIV/AIDS
6. Family Planning
7. Other Reproductive Health Concerns
8. Reproductive Health of Young People
9. Surveillance and Monitoring

Appendices

1. Information, Education, Communication
2. Legal Considerations
3. Glossary of Terms
4. Reference Addresses

The IEC programmes are highlighted in Appendix a1. This section opens with a guide to good communication skills for those working in reproductive health with a refugee community. It explains the essentials of IEC, particularly emphasising aspects that empower people to make decisions, modify behaviours, and change social conditions. The sections that follow discuss verbal and non-verbal communication, provider and service user relationships, community relationships, counselling as a key component of an IEC programme and the role of the counsellor, how to undertake a needs assessment that collects both quantitative and qualitative data, how to use questionnaires as field tools, the GATHER method of counselling, steps in developing IEC activities, the messages pertinent to RH, and how to link the population to continuing support services.

Additional updated information is contained in the Corrections to the Inter-agency Field Manual [PDF], August 21 2007.