RAISE Calls for Reproductive Health to Be Incorporated into Humanitarian Response to Haiti
The earthquake of January 12, 2010 has devastated Haiti, already the world’s fourth poorest nation. Given the massive scope of the destruction and the widespread poverty preceding the earthquake, this state of emergency will be protracted, and will require one of the largest humanitarian response efforts in recent history.
RAISE urges the humanitarian community to incorporate reproductive health (RH) into its response at all stages. Risks to RH dramatically increase in emergencies, and women and girls are especially vulnerable. These risks include, but are not limited to:
- Increased maternal death and permanent injury due to common complications of pregnancy and childbirth, in the absence of life-saving emergency obstetric care (EmOC);
- Lack of coordinated clinical and psychosocial response to rape and other forms of gender-based violence;
- Increased risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) being spread due to lack of condoms, the absence of enforced universal precautions, and contaminated blood and blood products; and
- Unsafe abortions due to unplanned and unintended pregnancies.
In the immediate crisis, the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for Reproductive Health can meet acute RH needs and lay the groundwork for longer-term comprehensive RH services. As a protocol that can be incorporated into all other emergency response protocols, the MISP is designed to prevent and respond to sexual violence; prevent excess newborn and maternal illness and death; reduce HIV transmission; and plan for comprehensive RH services.
RAISE partners IRC, ARC, CARE, and Save the Children are already active in the relief effort in Haiti. For more information on how you can help their efforts and ensure that critical RH needs are met, visit our partners by clicking on the links below.
IRC: http://www.theirc.org/crisis-haiti
ARC: http://www.arcrelief.org/site/PageServer?pagename=appeals_1_13_10
CARE: http://www.care.org/emergency/haitiearthquake/index.asp
Save the Children: http://www.savethechildren.org
RAISE is jointly run by Columbia University and Marie Stopes International. Learn how the Department of Population and Family Health in the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University has been involved in relief and development in Haiti.
January 15, 2010 | RAISE News