Overview

The Need

High quality RH services are among the most basic of human needs. They are also among the most poorly addressed needs of displaced persons. Women are especially vulnerable to RH risks and emergencies, both in crisis and conflict settings and in general.

Access to comprehensive RH services and information is crucial to the wellbeing of populations that have been affected by humanitarian emergencies. When RH care is limited or absent, the toll - in terms of life-threatening medical emergencies; harm to women and their families; and the violation of human rights - is profound.

Today, emergency displacement is rarely a short-term event. Often, people uprooted by emergencies must live far from their communities of origin, in foreign regions or countries, for months or years at a time. Displaced populations often face unique challenges - such as the use of sex to obtain basic necessities of life; the consequences of rape as a weapon of war; and the health risks posed by poor sanitation, nutrition, and inconsistent access to shelter - which make certain RH risks all the more probable. Further, some survivors of emergency displacement may feel pressure to replace lost community members, while others are keenly aware of the need to seek safe and sanitary living conditions before conceiving; these conflicting motivations may even be present within the same community at once, creating an extremely complex set of concerns surrounding fertility and family planning.

The RAISE Initiative's core premise is that comprehensive RH services must be recognised as an absolute necessity for populations displaced by emergencies - and, in a broader sense, as an integral part of basic health care for all, just as food, water, sanitation and shelter are commonly accepted as primary needs.

RAISE is a joint initiative of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Marie Stopes International | E-mail List | Staff