The importance of linking Sexual & Reproductive Health (SRH) and HIV and AIDS is now widely recognised. The majority of HIV infections are sexually transmitted or are associated with pregnancy, childbirth and breast-feeding.
The risk of HIV transmission and acquisition can be further increased due to the presence of certain sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In addition, sexual and reproductive ill-health and HIV share root causes, including poverty, limited access to appropriate information, gender inequality, cultural norms and social marginalisation of the most vulnerable populations.
Linkages between core HIV services (prevention, treatment, care and support) and core SRH services (FP, MNH, the prevention and management of STIs, RTIs, promotion of sexual health, prevention and management of gender-based violence, prevention of unsafe abortion and management of post-abortion care) in national programmes are thought to generate important public health benefits.
In addition, perspectives on linkages need to be broad-based addressing not only the health sector and the direct impact on health, but also the structural and social determinants affecting both HIV and SRH.
For this purpose IPPF in partnership with UNFPA , WHO, UNAID S, GNP +, IC W and Young Positives has come up with a tool titled “Rapid Assessment Tool for Sexual & Reproductive Health and HIV Linkages: A Generic Guide” that covers a broad range of linkages issues, such as policy, systems and services. By design, it aims to provide a guide for assessing linkages that can be adapted as needed to regional or national contexts based on a number of factors.
While this tool focuses primarily on the health sector it can be adapted to cover other sectors (education, social services, and labour). There is no single formula for approaching linkages. The modalities for linking SRH and HIV vary according to a number of national factors including:
The tool is suggested for use in an assessment of policies, systems and services related to SRH and HIV linkages. The questions provide a guide to assessing these linkages but are not meant to be exhaustive. The assessment should include group interviews with the chief current and past policy and programme decision makers, donors, and development partners, and individual interviews with providers and clients from a wide range of services. These include SRH, HIV, youth-friendly services, and male-oriented services provided by the Ministry of Health (MOH), AIDS organizations, private sector organizations and NGO s.
This guidance tool has been developed to address the SRH and HIV requirements of all people. However, the SRH issues that need to be addressed may vary according to gender, HIV status, age and other factors. Users of this generic guide may need to adapt the questions within to appropriately suit specific audiences.
This rapid assessment tool amalgamates a number of related tools that have been developed and pilot tested by a range of organizations. It can be used in whole or in part to examine linkages at the policy, system and health-service level.
For knowing more about this tool, please visit this link.
