D.37 - Universal access to quality sexual and reproductive health services

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.
Priority measure number
37

Comment

This priority measure is related to priority measure 12 on adolescent- and youth-friendly services, and to priority measures 72, 87 and 95 on sexual and reproductive health services for migrants, indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants, respectively. It would be advisable to develop accountability and participation mechanisms to follow up on the commitments made in this area.

Possible lines of action

1. Create normative frameworks that guarantee sexual and reproductive health care, recognizing cultural diversity, sexual diversity, the life cycle and the specific needs of older persons according to their health or disability, persons who are migrants, displaced or affected or otherwise vulnerable, or persons living in rural or remote areas. These frameworks may include policies, protocols, care manuals, and so forth. 2. Establish the necessary mechanisms for enforcing legislation or for implementing other mandatory measures. 3. Ensure the allocation and ring-fencing of the funds necessary for the functioning of sexual and reproductive health programmes and services targeted at all persons, in light of their specific needs. 4. Reinforce the available human resources throughout the national territory for providing high-quality sexual and reproductive health services. 5. Facilitate community-based participation in monitoring commitments, with emphasis on promoting women’s participation. 6. Provide universal sexual and reproductive health services consistent with cultural diversity, sexual diversity, stage of the life cycle and disability status, and services networks with clear mechanisms for referral and counter-referral, including in less densely populated areas. 7. Incorporate sexual and reproductive health into primary health-care strategies to ensure the intersectoral approach needed in this area of health. 8. Ensure the availability of inputs and medicines necessary for providing sexual and reproductive health services in emergency situations. 9. Strengthen information systems for timely decision-making. 10. Include HIV prevention measures in sexual and reproductive health services, making use of opportunities arising in the context of guidance and care relating to intrafamily violence.

Related instruments, forums and mechanisms

Sustainable Development Goals, Goal 3 (“Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”), target 3.1 (“By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality rate to less than 70 per 100,000 live births”), target 3.2 (“By 2030 end preventable deaths of newborns and under-five children”), and target 3.3 (referring to ending, by 2030, the epidemics of AIDS and other communicable diseases).

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women, article 5, establishes the obligation of States parties to “modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women”.

ECLAC Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean.

PAHO Strategy for Universal Access to Health and Universal Health Coverage.

Santo Domingo Consensus, agreement 70 (“Ensure, within the framework of strengthened health systems —endowed with budgetary, monitoring, evaluation and accountability mechanisms— universal access to expanded sexual health and reproductive health services of better quality and wider coverage”) and agreement 74 (“Implement gender-sensitive measures to guarantee access to good-quality health services, including sexual and reproductive health services, during and after disasters and in cases of emergency and for displaced persons and refugees in order to prevent mortality and morbidity”).

In addition, a background is provided by the commitment established in the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (action 7.6).

Topic
D. Sexual and reproductive health