The role of parliamentarians in promoting self-care interventions for sexual and reproductive health and rights: applying COVID-19 lens in the Eastern Mediterranean region

Health Research Policy and Systems

Souhail Alouini¹  Neil Datta²  Hala Abou-Taleb³  Nada Mohamed³  Heba Hagrass⁴  Magdy Morshed⁴  Inaya Ezzeddine⁵  Karima Gholbzouri⁶  Elisa Scolaro⁷ 

[1] Assembly of People’s Representatives in Tunisia, Le Bardo, Tunis, Tunisia;European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, Rue Montoyer 23, 1000, Brussels, Belgium;Health Systems Governance, World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, P.O. Box 7608, Extension of Abdel Razak El Sanhouri Street, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt;House of Representatives of Egypt, 1 Majlis Al-Shaab Street, Kasr El-Aini, Cairo, Egypt;National Assembly of Lebanon, Nijmeh Square, Beirut, Lebanon;Reproductive and Maternal Health, World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, P.O. Box 7608, Extension of Abdel Razak El Sanhouri Street, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt;Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization, Avenue Appia 20, 1211, Geneva, Switzerland;

关键词: Parliamentarians;    Self-care interventions;    Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR);    COVID-19 pandemic;    Disruption of healthcare services;    Eastern Mediterranean region;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12961-021-00689-y

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

Innovative people-centered care modalities including self-care interventions offer an opportunity to ensure continuity of healthcare services during COVID-19 and in post-COVID-19, as well as contribute to the achievement of universal health coverage. Parliamentarians are uniquely positioned to promote self-care interventions for sexual and reproductive health and rights through their legislative, budget allocation, oversight, and advocacy roles. However, existing health systems governance challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean region such as weak institutions setups, fragmentation of health programs, and limitation of resources could impede parliamentarians’ progress. To address these challenges, the following recommended actions should be considered: (1) promote the adaptation of sexual and reproductive health and rights service packages at primary healthcare level to integrate self-care interventions (2) govern innovative people-centered care channels including self-care interventions; and (3) engage in a dialogue with civil society and communities to meet needs, raise public awareness and generate demand.

【 授权许可】

CC BY