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20 Essentials Reading Time: 2 minutes

Introducing 20 Essential Resources: Family Planning and Reproductive Health in Fragile Settings

Christopher Lindahl
Katie Morris
Gathari Ndirangu
Eric Ramirez-Ferrero
Published on November 16, 2021

MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience is happy to partner with Knowledge SUCCESS to bring you this curated collection of resources highlighting the importance of voluntary family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) programs and services in fragile settings.

Why we created this collection

A significant number of maternal and child deaths occur in fragile settings—those marked by (often a combination of) shocks and stresses, such as:

  • Chronic insecurity and conflict.
  • Poor governance.
  • Environmental degradation.
  • Population displacement.

In countries affected by fragility, 61% of maternal deaths and more than two-thirds of child deaths occur due to these circumstances.

MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience works to strengthen health resilience in fragile settings to help individuals and communities better absorb, adapt, and transform in the face of recurrent shocks and stresses and to build back better.

Until recently, the evidence base for FP/RH in fragile settings was sparse. It was too often an afterthought in the face of shocks (sudden events that impact vulnerability) and stresses (long-term trends that impact vulnerability). The resources in this collection show there is strong demand for family planning in humanitarian and fragile settings. They provide evidence that high-quality services are feasible.

This collection will help individuals understand the complexities of fragile settings and the humanitarian-development nexus. It will examine the state of FP/RH in such places while offering practical tools for implementing partners and examples of effective programming.

How we chose the resources

MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience staff are drawn from both the humanitarian and development sectors, coupled with expertise in family planning and reproductive health. To be included, the resources needed to:

  1. Drive understanding of fragility, particularly within the humanitarian-development nexus.
  2. Be recently produced or updated.
  3. Be recognized as a globally agreed upon standard.
  4. Have relevance across countries and contexts.
Screenshot from the 20 Essential Resources collection

What is included in this collection?

This collection of essential resources draws from expertise across the humanitarian-development nexus to bridge historic divides between humanitarian and development actors. It aims to surface opportunities for collaboration and coordination in fragile settings where both humanitarian and development assistance may be present. The collection spans the breadth of expertise from the development and humanitarian sectors. It identifies resources that are broadly applicable to both contexts and the humanitarian-development nexus. The locations described are often settings with both humanitarian and development programming, such as DRC, Mali, South Sudan, and other fragile contexts.

Resources are organized into the following categories:

  • The Humanitarian-Development Nexus
  • The State of FP/RH in Fragile Settings
  • Tools for Planning and Implementation
  • Training Materials
  • Case Studies and Country Experiences

Each entry features a short summary on the resource and a statement on why we believe it’s essential. We hope you enjoy the collection and find it informative.

Visit 20 Essential Resources: Family Planning and Reproductive Health in Fragile Settings
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Christopher Lindahl

Knowledge Management Lead, MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience/Pathfinder International

Christopher Lindahl is a knowledge management advisor at Pathfinder International and the knowledge management lead for USAID’s MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience. His work focuses on developing strategies, approaches, and platforms to document and share project knowledge and learning within the project as well as with the broader global health community.Before joining Pathfinder in 2020, he worked at EngenderHealth and Save the Children, supporting knowledge management, communications, and advocacy for family planning and reproductive health programs in both development and humanitarian settings. Christopher holds a Master of Public Administration degree from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in history and secondary education from Boston College.

Katie Morris

MERL Advisor—Crisis Settings, MOMENTUM IHR/CARE

Katie Morris is a monitoring, evaluation, research, and Learning Advisor forMOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience.She has 10 years of humanitarian public health experience,specifically inFP/RH and MNH research, quality improvement, and the adaptation of global technical guidance within fragilesettings. Katie enjoys working with teams to find creative ways to strengthen monitoring systems and data use within complex environments, particularly when that information results in higher quality service delivery for women and girls affected by crises.Prior to joining MOMENTUM, Katie worked at Save the Children and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania. Katie holds an MPH in Public Health and Humanitarian Assistance from Columbia University.

Gathari Ndirangu

Deputy Technical Director and FP/RH Lead, MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience/Pathfinder International

Dr. Gathari Ndirangu is the deputy technical director and FP/RH lead for MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience. He has more than 20 years of experience in family planning; reproductive, maternal, newborn, and adolescent health programming; technical support; research; and clinical practice. Dr. Gatharihas contributed to global technical consultations at WHO and FIGO, provided technical support to senior Ministry of Health leaders in the East and Southern Africa region, contributed to the establishment and strengthening of multiple health training and mentorship systems, and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. He holds a Master of Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology, MBChB and Postgraduate Diploma in STIs from the University of Nairobi in Kenya, and Global Health from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

Eric Ramirez-Ferrero

Senior Technical Director, MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience/IMA World Health

Dr. Eric Ramirez-Ferrerois the senior technical director for MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience and leverages over 25 years of experience in senior technical and leadership positions in sexual and reproductive health and rights. Prior to joining MOMENTUM, he was the technical director of USAID’s Evidence to Action. He was instrumental in contributing to the evidence base of couple-focused interventions, advancing thinking regarding method choice, and championing young people’s meaningful engagement in policy processes. Dr. Ramirez-Ferreroholds an MPH in Population, Family and Reproductive Health from Johns Hopkins University, an MSc in Global Health Policy from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a Ph.D. in medical anthropology and feminist theory from Stanford University.

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Knowledge SUCCESS is a five-year global project led by a consortium of partners and funded by USAID’s Office of Population and Reproductive Health to support learning, and create opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange, within the family planning and reproductive health community.

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