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Conference Proceedings 2000
Findings On Reproductive Health Of Refugees And Displaced
Populations
Washington DC | December 5-6, 2000
Opening Plenary Session
| Moderator: Sandra Krause, Women's Commission for
Refugee Women and Children |
Presentations:
| Carolyn Makinson |
Historical perspective of refugee reproductive
health |
| Aziza Khalidi |
Example from the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon |
| Therese McGinn |
Reproductive health of war-affected populations:
What do we know? |
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| Historical perspective of refugee reproductive health |
| Presenter: Carolyn Makinson |
| Remember how it was in 1993 when the Women's Commission for
Refugee Women and Children visited eight refugee sites, and
documented that almost nothing was provided in terms of reproductive
health services. They found little interest among NGOs
or donors, with many assuming that refugees did not want reproductive
health services, or that these services would be culturally
inappropriate. Data were lacking on refugees' stated needs
and priorities, the medical and public health importance of
providing reproductive health services to refugees, and on how
these services could best be adapted to refugee and displaced
settings. Fortunately, Serge Male of UNHCR and Daniel
Pierotti of UNFPA were interested, and managed to prod their
agencies rather quickly to produce the Inter-agency Field Manual:
Reproductive Health in Refugee Situations. I can hardly
believe that now a conference is occurring on reproductive health
with this number of key people and agencies. I just returned
from a field trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan where I saw the
changes with my own eyes. Those camps are one example
of a change of heart taking place with regard to provision of
services for refugees. We cannot limit our assistance
to the bare minimum needed to keep people alive. Forced
displacement is a tragedy for those involved. But it doesn't
have to be just a tragedy; it can also be an opportunity to
introduce new ideas, new information and new services.
It is to be hoped that refugees will eventually take home with
them these new ideas and a determination to demand better health
and education programs for themselves and their children. |
| Example from the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon |
| Presenter: Aziza Khalidi |
| Reproductive health among the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon,
as in any other refugee situation, revolves around the centrality
of return to the homeland. A socio-demographic profile
of the Palestinian refugee population was then presented based
primarily on Fafo survey 1999. Issues regarding the provision
of reproductive health services include a lack of knowledge
about the services, a lack of a comprehensive assessment of
such services, and the minimal participation of men in reproductive
health programs. Recommendations include: (1) establishing
a coordinating body for health services in general and reproductive
health in particular; (2) analyzing available information from
recent surveys and ongoing programs; (3) expanding reproductive
health programs to include services pertaining to domestic relations--health
education, counseling (such services would form the umbrella
for the social aspect of family planning); (4) ensuring comprehensiveness
of reproductive health services through integration with primary
care as a strategy to achieve health for all. |
| Reproductive health of war-affected populations: What do
we know? |
| Presenter: Therese McGinn |
| A review of available published and unpublished reports demonstrates
if and how reproductive health status is affected by refugee
or displaced status. Data suggest that refugees' status
with respect to fertility, family planning and Maternal and Newborn Care
is largely determined by factors similar to those in settled
populations: socio-demographic factors and access to services,
rather than refugee status per se, appear to influence fertility
desires and health behavior with respect to these reproductive
health concerns. The data indicate that war-affected populations
are disproportionately at risk for STDs as displacement promotes
transmission between high and low prevalence groups and exposure
to the military further promotes transmission. The data
suggest that conditions of refugee life are particularly conducive
to sexual violence both in the early stages of complex emergencies
when rape is used by armies as a weapon of war and in the stable
phase when violence perpetrated by partners or acquaintances
may become more prevalent. Understanding the ways in which
refugees' reproductive health problems are similar to and different
from those of settled populations can help policymakers and
programmers adapt existing service models to refugees' specific
needs. |
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