The reproductive rights and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) framework has been developed to provide overall guidance for implementing the Reproductive Health and Rights elements of the UNFPA Strategic plan 2008-2011. The framework builds on the goals established by previous international conferences and presents the conceptual and operational basis for UNFPA to achieve these goals.
This document is divided into two parts: the first provides a snapshot of the progress achieved in SRH over the last decade, identifies major gaps that remain, notes the four thematic priorities to implement within the reproductive health and rights area of the strategic plan and identifies principles and approaches for programme planning and implementation. The second identifies key priorities and specific strategies for each of the SRH-related strategic plan outcomes. It also provides guidance to develop context-specific outputs at all levels.
Key Findings:
The first task of UNFPA and its partners will be to ensure that reproductive rights and SRH are given increased priority in policies, planning and budget allocations in the health and other relevant sectors. UNFPA will strengthen its participation in programme-based approaches and sector-wide approaches (SWAps).
To implement the strategic plan’s goals in reproductive rights and SRH and to contribute to achievement of the related outcomes, UNFPA will invest in four priority areas:
- SRH services in the basic health-care services delivered at district and local levels, particularly primary health care, through functioning health systems that prioritise quality, equity and integration and are equipped with accountability mechanisms for users and providers.
- The integration of HIV prevention, management and care in SRH services. The integration of HIV and SRH services matters enormously from a user’s perspective, providing users in dealing with the health-care system as one, in testing its quality and in feeling supported.
- Gender sensitive life-skills based SRH education and a package of social protection services for adolescents and youth, including SRH.
- SRH in emergencies and humanitarian crises, which will include the same services defined above in the SRH package to safeguard the SRH and reproductive rights of women and adolescents affected by conflict and disasters.
The overall strategic plan goal for SRH and HIV prevention is to contribute to the achievement of improving quality of life through universal access to reproductive health by 2015 and universal access to comprehensive HIV prevention by 2010.
Recommendations:
There is an urgent need for dramatically increased investments in SRH information and services to address the global SRH challenges and the reproductive rights of populations, particularly the most vulnerable.
