Date
The National Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy will provide guidelines to address the following development issues affecting the population in an integrated manner:
- Limitations in accessing quality family planning and SRH services
- High rates of unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortions
- High incidence of new HIV infections and HIV-related deaths
- High incidence of risky sexual behaviour among adolescents and youth
- High rates of teenage pregnancy
- High prevalence of HIV and STIs among key and vulnerable populations including adolescents and youth
- High rates of reproductive cancer mortality in both females and males
- High rates of sexual violence
- Real and perceived HIV/SRH-related stigma and discrimination
-Prevailing cultural norms and behavioural practices that inhibit and affect SRH choices among the population
General Objectives
The SRH Steering Committee will guide the formulation of the Policy and provide oversight to the Consultant or Consultancy Firm engaged to develop the National Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy.
The Steering Committee will also be involved in the monitoring, evaluation and review of the National Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy once approved by Cabinet.
Beneficiaries
All persons
Country
Type
Programmes
Responsible institution
Topics / Chapters
Main Priority Measure
D.33 - Guarantee sexual and reproductive health and rights
Promote, protect and guarantee sexual health and rights and reproductive rights in order to contribute to the fulfilment of persons and to social justice in a society free from all forms of discrimination and violence.
D.34 - Policies for the exercise of sexual rights
Promote policies that enable persons to exercise their sexual rights, which embrace the right to a safe and full sex life, as well as the right to take free, informed, voluntary and responsible decisions on their sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity, without coercion, discrimination or violence, and that guarantee the right to information and the means necessary for their sexual health and reproductive health.
D.35 - Access to information
Review legislation, standards and practices that restrict access to sexual and reproductive health services, including the provision of comprehensive user-friendly services for adolescents and youth, and guarantee access to full information on all of the service options available to all persons, without any form of discrimination, in order to ensure that the highest international standards of protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms are met in the region.
D.36 - Eradicate discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
Design policies and programmes to eradicate discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the exercise of sexual rights and the manifestations thereof.
D.37 - Universal access to quality sexual and reproductive health services
Guarantee universal access to good-quality sexual health and reproductive health services, bearing in mind the specific needs of men and women, adolescents and young people, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, older persons and persons with disabilities, with special attention to vulnerable persons, persons living in rural and remote areas and to the promotion of citizen participation in the follow-up to commitments.
D.38 - Prevention, timely detection and comprehensive treatment of HIV / AIDS and ITS
Promote the prevention and timely detection of and guarantee universal access to comprehensive treatment for HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections and eliminate the stigma and discrimination to which persons living with the virus are often subjected.
D.39 - Detection of HIV / AIDS and ITS in pregnant women
Strengthen measures for detection of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections in pregnant women and for prevention of the vertical transmission of the virus.
D.40 - Eliminate causes of maternal morbidity and mortality
Eliminate preventable cases of maternal morbidity and mortality, including, within the set of integrated benefits of sexual health and reproductive health services, measures for preventing and avoiding unsafe abortion, including sexual health and reproductive health education, access to modern and effective contraceptive methods, counselling and comprehensive care in cases of unwanted and unaccepted pregnancy, as well as comprehensive post-abortion care, where necessary, on the basis of a risk- and harm-reduction strategy.
D.41 - Prevention and self-care in sexual and reproductive health in men
Promote prevention and self-care programmes for the sexual health and reproductive health of men.
D.42 - Safe and quality abortion services in legal or decriminalized abortion settings
Ensure, in those cases where abortion is legal or decriminalized under the relevant national legislation, the availability of safe, good-quality abortion services for women with unwanted and unaccepted pregnancies, and urge all other States to consider amending their laws, regulations, strategies and public policies relating to the voluntary termination of pregnancy in order to protect the lives and health of women and adolescent girls, improve their quality of life, and reduce the number of abortions.
D.43 - Comprehensive health care in the reproductive process for all women
Ensure that all women have effective access to comprehensive health care during the reproductive process and specifically to skilled, institutional, compassionate obstetric care and to the best possible maternal health services during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium, as well as to services that include the termination of pregnancy in those cases where the law provides for such services, and guarantee universal access to assisted fertility treatments.
D.44 - Effective access to modern contraceptive methods
Guarantee effective access to a wide range of culturally relevant, scientifically sound, modern contraceptive methods, including emergency oral contraception.
D.45 - Detection of pregnancy disorders
Formulate plans for strengthening mechanisms for detecting problems during pregnancy, including at the preconception stage, improve the quality of antenatal care to include an intercultural perspective, guarantee the provision of a safe supply of blood for care during pregnancy, childbirth and the post-partum and puerperium period, and enhance compassionate care during delivery and birth and comprehensive perinatal care, bearing in mind the needs of women, boys, girls and families.
D.46 - Resources for universal access to sexual and reproductive health
Guarantee sufficient financial, human and technological resources in order to provide universal access to sexual health care and reproductive health care for all women, men, adolescents, young people, older persons and persons with disabilities without any form of discrimination.