An estimated 339 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2023, with over half of these being women and girls. Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) risks for women and girls increase dramatically during humanitarian crises, due to disruption or destruction of social protections, health systems, and infrastructure, and it is critical that their SRH needs are recognized and addressed as an integral part of the humanitarian health response. More than half of maternal deaths occur in fragile or conflict-affected countries, and women and girls in humanitarian settings face increased risk of sexual violence (including intimate partner violence), unwanted pregnancy, and STIs including HIV. Already vulnerable or marginalized groups, including adolescents, people with disabilities, LGBTQI+, people who sell or exchange sex, and people living with HIV face even greater challenges to accessing SRH information and quality services during times of crisis.

The Global Health Cluster SRH Task Team has been established to ensure SRH priorities are systematically addressed in all phases of humanitarian response and that SRH coordination is consistently included in cluster coordination at both the global and country levels.

SRH Task Team Outputs:

1. Systemize coordination for SRH
2. Reduce maternal and newborn mortality
3. Prevent unwanted pregnancies
4. Develop and systematize effective linkages between SRH and GBV

For more information on the SRH Task Team, please contact Nadine Cornier, lead of the GHC SRH Task Team at cornier@unfpa.org and Erin Wheeler co-lead at erin.wheeler@rescue.org

Publications 

Relevant Resources

Below are a handful of relevant resources for SRH in humanitarian and fragile settings. These were not developed by the SRH Task Team but are frequently used by our members for guidance, implementation, decision making, etc. This list is not exhaustive, for more information on a particular topic, please reach out to our focal point identified below.

UNFPA - Lead

International Rescue Committee - Co-lead

Action Contre la Famine (ACF), CARE International, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ECHO, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), FHI360, Global Health Cluster (GHC), Inter Agency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Crises (IAWG), International Medical Corps (IMC), Intersos, IOM, IPas, IPPF, John Hopkins University (JHU), JSI, Médecins du Monde (MDM), Medair, Medical Teams International (MTI), MSI Reproductive Choices, Relief International (RI), Save the Children, Terre des Hommes (TdH), UNHCR, UNICEF, USAID/BHA, WHO, & Women's Refugee Commission (WRC). 

Related Links