Project profile — Strengthening SRHR and GVB Prevention in Host Communities of Cox's Bazar

• Bangladesh (100.00%)

• Basic health care:
Basic health care (12220) (7.00%)
Basic nutrition (12240) (3.00%)
Health personnel development (12281) (10.00%)
• Population policy and administrative management:
Population policy and administrative management (13010) (10.00%)
Reproductive health care (13020) (10.00%)
Family planning (13030) (10.00%)
• Government And Civil Society, General: Ending violence against women and girls (15180) (50.00%)

• Gender equality (principal objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (significant objective)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (significant objective)
• Youth Issues (significant objective)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)
• Nutrition (significant objective)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)

The project aims to provide equitable sexual and reproductive health care and respond to gender-based violence (GBV) for people living in local communities of Cox’s Bazar impacted by the influx of over 740,000 Rohingya refugees since August 2017. Cox’s Bazar is one of Bangladesh’s poorest and most vulnerable districts, with poverty well above the country’s national average. The influx of Rohingya has increased economic tensions and competition for scarce resources, including jobs and income among the Rohingya and the existing Bangleshi communities where the refugees are camped, as well as having a serious impact on local infrastructure and services. This situation is particularly difficult for women and children who are the most vulnerable. The project works to improve the accessibility to GBV and psychosocial services in public health facilities and women-friendly spaces for survivors of GBV. Project activities include: (1) increasing awareness and use of services by survivors through outreach activities; (2) building the self-reliance skills of 4,000 women with information on their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), functional numeracy and literacy skills, nutrition and core life skills; (3) engaging 30,000 community members through implementing, for the first time in Bangladesh, the SASA! (Start, Awareness, Support, Action) community mobilization strategy for raising awareness and preventing GBV; and (4) developing a community-based GBV response and prevention program, including engagement with men and boys for their role in protecting families and communities from GBV. Benefiting over 500,000 women and girls, the project supports the Bangladeshi Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in: (1) strengthening public health facilities to provide high-quality midwifery and emergency obstetric care; (2) increasing the availability of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services, including family planning, contraception and treatment of STIs and HIV; and (3) developing training materials and providing training for health care providers on GBV response and treatment of survivors.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) enhanced provision of equitable and high quality SRHR services to women and adolescent girls in host communities of Cox’s Bazar; and (2) improved prevention of and response to gender-based violence in Cox’s Bazar.

Results achieved as of the end of the project (September 2022), include: (1) ensured availability of 24/7 basic emergency obstetric and newborn care services by deploying 25 diploma level midwives at 19 Union Health and Family Welfare Centres, enabling the centres to prioritize the provision of quality and safe emergency obstetric and neonatal care services. This included referral and education on COVID-19 prevention for the stigmatized and geographically marginalized population groups in Cox’s Bazar district; (2) provided SRHR information and services to 375,845 women of reproductive age; (3) 53,030 deliveries conducted by skilled health care providers; (4) enabled 31,369 pregnant women to have at least 4 antenatal visits each and provided emergency obstetric care to 25,511 pregnant women with complications. Provided postnatal care to 13,180 women and confirmed 344 fistula (227 women underwent successful fistula repair surgeries); (4) trained 1,509 participants in family planning; (5) reached 254,434 women with information on family planning. 244,406 (96%) aged 15 to 49 reported having heard about family planning before; (6) enabled 18,653 women to access family planning services. This includes 4,421 (24%) who received postpartum contraception and 14,232 (76%) who received general contraceptive services and methods; (7) provided, through project’s strategic partnership with line ministries of the Government of Bangladesh, training in family planning and technical assistance to government health institutions, built capacity of 108 doctors, midwives, nurses, family welfare visitors and assistants; (8) screened 1,342 pregnant women for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and syphilis during their antenatal visits. Also provided professional care and advice on STI management, screening and treatment to 2,700 transgender and gender diverse individuals, and HIV screening and counseling to 2,128 individuals.

• Proactive disclosure