Nimble adaptations to sexual and reproductive health service provision to adolescents and young people in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, emerging evidence showed that the provision and use of a range of health services, including sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, were affected. Otherwise, there was little evidence on whether and how they were adapted to maintain the access of different population groups, including adolescents. The study aims to provide an overview of adaptations to adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) services carried out during the early phases of the pandemic in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Adolescent health programming in India: a rapid review.

Background: Recognizing the potential of the country's large youth population and the importance of protecting and supporting its health and well-being, the Government of India committed to strengthening its programmes and systems for adolescents, initially through the Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health Strategy (ARSH) launched in 2005 and, subsequently, through the National Adolescent Health Programme (Rashtriya Kishore Swaasthya Karyakram or RKSK) launched in 2014. In 2016, in response to a request from the Government of India, the World Health Organisation undertook a rapid programme review of ARSH and RKSK at the national level and in four states (Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand) to identify and document lessons learnt in relation to four domains of the programmes (governance, implementation, monitoring and linkages) that could be used to enhance current and future adolescent health programming in India.

Methodology And Findings: A rapid programme review methodology was utilised to gain an overview of the successes and challenges of the two adolescent health programmes.

How can collective action between government sectors to prevent child marriage be operationalized? Evidence from a post-hoc evaluation of an intervention in Jamui, Bihar and Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan in India.

Background: Although the need for multi-faceted and multi-sectoral approaches to address the multidimensional issue of child marriage is well-acknowledged, there is a dearth of documented experience on the process of implementing and managing such programmes.

Methods: WHO evaluated a district-level, government-led multi-sectoral intervention to address child marriage in Jamui, Bihar and Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, implemented by MAMTA Health Institute for Mother and Child (MAMTA). We evaluated the intervention's design, implementation, monitoring, and outputs and identified key challenges and successes.

The Tarunya Project's efforts to improve the quality of adolescent reproductive and sexual health services in Jharkhand state, India: a post-hoc evaluation.

Following the International Conference on Population and Development Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health (ARSH) was recognized as a top development priority in India's National Population Policy 2000. In 2006 a separate ARSH strategy was articulated within the National Rural Health Mission. In Jharkhand, one of the poorest and least developed states in India, in 2008 the state government launched a Tarunya Project in collaboration with EngenderHealth.

"If a woman has even one daughter, I refuse to perform the abortion": Sex determination and safe abortion in India.

In India, safe abortion services are sought mainly in the private sector for reasons of privacy, confidentiality, and the absence of delays and coercion to use contraception. In recent years, the declining sex ratio has received much attention, and implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act (2003) has become stringent. However, rather than targeting sex determination, many inspection visits target abortion services.

Facility and personnel factors influencing magnesium sulfate use for eclampsia and pre-eclampsia in 3 Indian hospitals.

Objective: To identify factors at the health facility and health professional levels that might hinder or facilitate the appropriate use of magnesium sulfate for the treatment of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia.

Methods: Seven focus group discussions were conducted with a purposively sampled group of obstetricians/gynecologists, medical residents, and nurses at 3 hospitals in Nagpur, India. Data were collected on facility and drug availability, criteria for diagnosis and management of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, attitudes about magnesium sulfate use, and perceived barriers to the treatment of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia.

Implementing reproductive and child health services in rural Maharashtra, India: a pragmatic approach.

The Government of India has been providing limited maternal and child health services through its Family Welfare programme, but this system is characterised by weaknesses that include inefficient work schedules; non-availability of functioning equipment; poor contraceptive and drug supplies; poor skills and knowledge of health workers; and poor access to services in villages without health centres. For the new Reproductive and Child Health programme to deliver an even wider range of services, the health system will need to be strengthened and the quality of service delivery improved. This paper describes a seven-year operations research project in Parner block, Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India, undertaken by the Foundation for Research in Health Systems in partnership with state and district health administrations.