The Reproductive Health Sub-programme seeks to contribute to
increased utilization of high-quality reproductive health information,
counselling and services among women, men, youth and adolescents, particularly
in the target areas where the worst reproductive health and family planning
conditions exist.
The following outputs focusing on three levels are defined:
Increased availability of reproductive health services in
target areas;
Improved quality of care; and
Enhanced IEC on reproductive health issues.
The first output seeks to increase the availability of
comprehensive reproductive health services for all couples and individuals in
underserved areas. Building on past achievements, UNFPA will provide
support to 25 of the country’s 88 health districts, while 19 additional health
districts will be supported if funds become available from multilateral and/or
bilateral sources. This will be done through integrating quality services
and information in 250 service delivery points (of which at least 125 would
provide Intra-uterine devise (IUD) insertion in addition to other commodities).
Services will be expanded to include post-partum care, a safe motherhood
package, family planning, screening and management of sexually transmitted
infections (STIs), screening for breast and cervical cancer and gynecological
morbidity services. The emergency obstetrics care system will be
strengthened by establishing 25 additional natural delivery centres in the
selected districts and ensuring that a proper package of emergency obstetrics
care is available including the establishment of an effective referral system,
training of service providers, coordination of life support transportation and
access to blood transfusion.
The second output is to improve the quality of care for
reproductive health services in underserved areas through, inter alia:
Producing reproductive health service protocols and guidelines in line with
World Health Organization (WHO)
norms;
Strengthening counselling as a component of reproductive health
services;
Ensuring the provision of an adequate method mix through increased
use of IUDs and prevention and management of STIs, including HIV/AIDS;
Strengthening pre-service training for service providers;
Strengthening
in-service training in clinical skills, counselling and interpersonal
communication, focusing on staff working in target areas;
Improving the
referral system by supporting 25 referral centres in selected areas;
Upgrading
clinical and managerial skills of staff, developing referral manuals and
improving the records system;
Strengthening the logistics system for sustainable reproductive health commodity
security; and
Enhancing the
national monitoring system and using research as a basis for improving
management.
The third output is to increase information on reproductive
health concerns among women, men and youth. The key activities would be:
Developing standards
and protocols for information, education and communication (IEC) activities
focusing on the target groups;
Producing and
disseminating IEC materials conducive to attitudinal and behavioural change;
Ensuring the
availability of qualified IEC professionals;
Instituting a peer
education approach in addressing the needs of adolescents, in particular with
reference to better knowledge of STIs and their prevention;
Conducting IEC
outreach activities to address male involvement; and
Strengthening the
incorporation of family life education and gender-sensitive curricula in school
and literacy programmes.
In addition to the support UNFPA-assisted programme
will supply to the Ministry of Health, which will continue to implement
clinical and counseling training activities, the Syrian Family Planning
Association (SFPA) will be UNFPA counterpart in activities related to male
involvement, including an outreach programme aimed at men. In the area of
reproductive health for youth, including in the prevention of HIV in line with
the national AIDS programme, UNFPA will support the Revolutionary Youth Union in
institutionalizing peer education. Support to the country’s universities in
conducting relevant operational research will be reinforced. UNFPA will also
strengthen the information base on reproductive health through seminars,
conferences and work with the Syrian Association of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the national
Association of Midwives. The private sector
will be encouraged to contribute to the elaboration, production, dissemination
and utilization of reproductive health guidelines and protocols.
The IEC unit within the Ministry of Health will implement
IEC activities in support of reproductive health, including the prevention of
STIs and HIV/AIDS, in liaison with the National Committee on AIDS. The Ministry
of Education and Ministry of Culture will continue to incorporate family life
education into the school curricula and literacy programmes.
Major Highlights:
Expanding availability of quality reproductive health
services and information in 277 Health Centers in 25 Health Districts,
including referral system. Services supported include: safe motherhood,
emergency obstetric care, family planning, screening of STIs, screening for
breast and cervical cancers and counseling services and strengthening the
management information system including use of related indicators. Moreover,
support is provided to pre-marital services in health centers;
Elaboration of the National Reproductive Health Strategy,
already under revision;
Initiating the Study on "Causes of Maternal Mortality in
Syria;"
Conducting "Needs Assessment Among Youth" in the 25 Health
Districts;
Conducting "Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice among Men in
Selected Healthy Villages";
Launching awareness creation and advocacy campaigns and
production of IEC materials, and communicating messages through various media
channels;
Upgrading the STIs Laboratory affiliated to the Ministry of
Health;
Supporting voluntary counseling testing (VCT) training for
health workers in HIV/AIDS Labs in different governorates;
Supporting STIs testing techniques training for physicians;
Conducting a Knowledge, Attitude & Practice Survey
among
Female Sex Workers & Cupping Workers;
Raising-awareness workshops.
Population and Development Strategies Sub-programme:
The purpose of the Population
and Development Strategies Sub-programme is to contribute to the integration of
reproductive health and gender-related issues in development plans at national,
sectoral and local levels.
The first output of the sub-programme is to have improved
capacity for integrating population, gender and reproductive health into ongoing
national and sectoral policies, plans and programmes. This Would be
achieved through:
Assisting in
developing and implementing the national population policy through training in
policy articulation and integration of population variables and gender issues in
development plans;
Training in
methodologies of forecasting and costing;
Enhancing skills in
strategic planning and operations research;
Promoting relevant
policy studies;
Strengthening the
national capacity for monitoring and evaluating the national population policy
programme of action;
Strengthening
coordination mechanisms among all national institutions involved in
population-related issues; and
Fostering an active
partnership with relevant regional institutions.
The second output is to increase the availability of
user-friendly reproductive health, sex-disaggregated and population-related
data. This would be achieved through:
Advocating the
improvement of the Country’s information base by establishing a user-friendly
socio-demographic and reproductive health database;
Providing advisory
services and training programmes to bring methodologies used in line with
international practices; and
Providing adequate
software and training to build capacity in design and analysis of censuses and
surveys.
Major Highlights:
Conducting the
Rapid Assessment Research (RAR) in the five
Governorates located in the north-eastern part of the country (Aleppo, Hassakeh,
Raqaa, Deir Ezzor and Edleb) being the most disadvantaged in the areas of
health, education and human development conditions.
Development of the draft National Population Policy, ongoing
efforts are continued to modify the Strategy in the context of the MDGs;
Support capacity building of the Technical Secretariat of
the National Population Committee;
Provide technical assistance in support of integrating
population variables in the national development planning activities;
Support to 2004 Population and Housing Census; and the Pan-Arab Project for Family Health Survey (PAPFAM-2002), conducted by the Central
Bureau of Statistics with the joint support of the League of Arab States and
concerned UN agencies. Efforts are continued to assist national counterparts in
the analysis of the findings of these activities;
Support the establishment of the Higher Institute for
Population Studies affiliated to the Ministry of Higher Education.
Advocacy Sub-programme:
The purpose of the Advocacy Sub-programme is to contribute to
increasing and strengthening national commitment to the ICPD Programme of
Action, ICPD+5 goals and other relevant global initiatives. The first
output involves mobilization of active support from policy makers and opinion
leaders for addressing population, reproductive health and gender issues and
concerns. Relevant strategies include:
Raising awareness
among parliamentarians and political leaders to reform the existing legal
framework covering reproductive health and women’s issues;
Sensitizing decision
makers and opinion leaders on the nature, extent and acuteness of challenges in
population, reproductive health and gender concerns;
Fostering a national
debate on population and reproductive health issues through identification and
use of a national network of experts and committed policy makers; and
Integrating
reproductive health, population and gender in the programmes of various media
organizations.
The second output is to enhance the advocacy capacities of
relevant institutions and organizations to promote population, gender and
reproductive health issues and concerns through:
Ensuring the
availability of qualified advocacy professionals by providing training and
exchange of experiences;
Producing and
disseminating advocacy materials, building on an impressive national expertise
in production of soap operas and serials;
Enhancing the
development of research-based advocacy campaigns for an efficient advocacy
strategy; and
Strengthening
coordination mechanisms.
Major Highlights:
Launching Advocacy Campaigns targeting various audience,
including youth and parliamentarians;
Production of media messages on population, reproductive
health, gender issues through TV spots and radio programmes;
Production of "Islamic Perspective of Family Planning"
booklet;
Holding discussion tables among religious leaders;
Support the Population Unit at the Ministry of Social
Affairs and Labor and Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA);
Conducting seminars on CEDAW, Beijing+10 and developing
appropriate IEC materials;
Conducting a training workshop on gender mainstreaming in
planning process;
Conducting studies on" Knowledge and Attitudes of Media
Professionals and Decision Makers on Population, Reproductive Health and Gender
Issues", “Content Analysis Research of Population Related Content of Selected
Media", “Phenomena of Gender-Based Violence”, “Status of Women in the Industrial
Sector”, etc.
Establishing a library on population issues at MAWRED, a
non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing and activating the contribution
of women in the development process.
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