Strengthening access to sexual and reproductive health services for internally displaced people during COVID-19 in Burkina Faso

Refugee and displaced populations, and the vulnerable communities with whom they share space, are at high risk for acquiring COVID-19 because their living conditions make it impossible to practice physical distancing and isolation or to access quality healthcare. Refugee women are particularly vulnerable because their limited access to sexual and reproductive health services and products is further interrupted and their duties as caretakers, especially in under-resourced refugee settings, are increased.

This project is part of an initiative that will provide evidence and strengthen capacity for bridging the knowledge gap in responding to the growing COVID-19 health crisis in the short-term and the longer term. The initiative will support research on resilience building and preparedness to serve the needs of refugees and other populations on the move by promoting inter-sectoral approaches, including building bridges between humanitarian and development responses to reduce and control health risks for displaced populations. It will also leverage existing local opportunities to strengthen the overall initiative.

This project will assess and respond to the needs of an internally displaced population in the fragile context of Burkina Faso, where growing conflict and terrorism may turn into a chronic development crisis. It focuses on increasing access to sexual and reproductive health services and related rights of internally displaced adolescents and women in the context of COVID-19. Firstly, it will identify the needs, constraints, and facilitating factors for using such services before developing and implementing an intervention to improve access to and awareness of sexual and reproductive health services and rights. The project will document the results and disseminate them as lessons learned to strengthen current and future responses to similar health crises.