This joint initiative, UNICEF-UNFPA, aims to reduce deaths of girls, women and infants by promoting and improving sexual and reproductive health services and rights and access to related information services. It particularly focuses on increasing effective coverage of key sexual and reproductive health services and rights including maternal newborn child health services in low performing districts. It addresses gaps and weakness of local government service delivery capacity, geography and culture to reduce preventable deaths amongst women and infants. The overall goal of the initiative is to contribute and accelerate the existing efforts of the government of Bangladesh in promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights of the population, especially among women and adolescents, including efforts to improve maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health.
The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved utilization of quality, gender responsive sexual and reproductive health-related information and services that equitably meet the needs of girls and boys and women and men; (2) improved utilization of quality, gender-responsive essential newborn and infant health services for baby girls and boys; )3) enhanced Government of Bangladesh’s policy commitment and ability to main- stream innovations nationally through gender-responsive public sexual and reproductive health service delivery systems. The project’s ultimate outcome is improving sexual and reproductive health and rights and reducing maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality in selected districts of Bangladesh.
Results achieved as of December 2018 include: (1) 220 midwives were trained on the essential components of adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights services (SRHR), and in measures to prevent gender-based violence (GBV), child marriage and pregnancy; (2) 4,659 adolescent girls and 7,575 women who had experienced GBV, received SRHR services from the midwives in the five programme districts (Patuakhali, Sirajganj, Jamalpur, Moulvibazar and Rangamati). The initial target was to reach 5,000 women and adolescents; (3) in 2018, 19,061 women of reproductive age were counselled and gained access to postpartum family planning services, compared to the 9,684 women in 2017; (4) 3,956 field workers were trained in 33 Upazilas Health Complexes in the 5 districts on the Comprehensive New-born Care Package (CNCP), including training on breast feeding; and (5) 460 nurses and 92 doctors received training on Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment .
