Emergency Health for Displaced Women and Girls
Women and girls have reproductive health needs that must be addressed during an emergency situation. Unfortunately, the international community has not always recognized reproductive health care as necessary during an emergency. Neglecting RH in emergencies has serious consequences: preventable maternal and infant deaths; unwanted pregnancies and subsequent unsafe abortions; and the spread of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. Fifteen percent of all pregnant women will experience an unpredictable obstetric complication. Without access to emergency obstetric services, many women will die or suffer long-term health consequences that are preventable.
The Women’s Commission works to ensure that these vital needs are recognized and addressed in an emergency by promoting basic standards for reproductive health care that must be met during a crisis. These standards, also known as the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP), are designed to: prevent and respond to sexual violence; prevent maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity; reduce HIV transmission; and plan for comprehensive RH services. When implemented at the onset of a crisis, the MISP saves lives and prevents illness, especially among women and girls. The Women's Commission developed a MISP distance learning module to help humanitarian workers implement all activities of the MISP.
The MISP includes a kit of equipment and supplies to complement the set of priority activities that must be implemented in the early days and weeks of a crisis in a coordinated manner by trained staff. The components of the MISP form a minimum requirement and it is expected that comprehensive reproductive health care services will be provided as soon as all components have been implemented. Humanitarian workers are responsible for ensuring that MISP priority activities are implemented. While all humanitarian workers are responsible for implementation of the MISP, it is essential to immediately designate a RH Coordinator/Focal Point who is experienced in emergency settings and is able to coordinate and facilitate RH activities at the beginning of every new emergency. However, MISP activities are not limited to RH staff or even the general health sector. The MISP cuts across all sectors in addition to health, including food security, water and sanitation services and shelter. The MISP is a standard in the 2004 revised version of the Sphere Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response for humanitarian assistance providers.
Once humanitarian actors are familiar with the priority activities of the MISP they will recognize that it can be provided within the context of other critical priorities such as food, water and shelter.
Gender-based violence (GBV) is strongly associated with situations of forced population movement.[1] The MISP can help to prevent sexual violence and provide appropriate assistance to survivors by ensuring systems are in place to protect displaced populations, particularly women and girls, from sexual violence and ensuring medical services, including psychosocial support, are available for survivors of sexual violence.
HIV can spread quickly where there is poverty, powerlessness and instability. The MISP helps to prevent the transmission of HIV by emphasizing the importance of universal precautions (a set of safety measures to prevent HIV transmission), making free condoms readily available and ensuring blood for transfusion is safe. Introducing reproductive and sexual health services during the initial phase of a crisis can substantially contribute to reducing HIV transmission.[2]
Click here for a fact sheet on the MISP. Find key messages on emergency health here.
Check out the online MISP Module and get certified in priority reproductive health services. Certification in the Module verifies 3.5 continuing education credits for United States nurses.
Learn more about the Women's Commission's role in the RAISE Initiative (Reproductive Health Access Information and Services in Emergencies), which was formed to address gaps that still remain in emergency reproductive health care — gaps in family planning, gender-based violence, sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS and the provision of quality services for emergency obstetric care.