Background
Sexual Reproductive Health Unit is a Public Health Office in the Ministry of Health that consists of various programmes that are strategically placed to address Maternal Neonatal Child Health.
The different programmes that make up the Sexual Reproductive Health Unit are as follows;
1. Safe Motherhood Programme
2. Family Planning Programme
3. Adolescent SRH Programme
4. Social Mobilization and Community Linkages Programme
5. SRH Commodity Security Programme
GOAL
The main goal of Sexual Reproductive Health in SWAZILAND is to reduce disease burden on Swaziland population that may be sexual reproductive related and focused.
OBJECTIVES
The specific objectives of the SRH in Swaziland are based on the specific components of SRH or MNCH which are as follows;
Safe motherhood:
- To reduced morbidity and mortality of newborns and mothers.
- To increase uptake and efficiency of PMTCT programme.
Family Planning:
- To enable couples and individuals to freely choose how many children to have and when to have them.
- To provide standardized clear and accurate information on FP
- To provide comprehensive well integrated quality FP services
Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health:
- To reduce teenage pregnancy
- To positively influence sexual behaviours of adolescents.
Social Mobilization and Community linkages:
- To improve male involvement in the MNCH care
- To improve and strengthen knowledge and participation of the community on issues of SRH
- To ensure availability of quality and affordable SRH services at local level
SRH Commodity Security:
- To ensure continuous availability of quality SRH commodities in the country
- To provide a wide range of SRH commodities ensuring choice by the clients and alternatives for HCPs in provision of care.
ACHIEVEMENTS
CARMMS
Following the launch of CARMMA, Swaziland launched her own CARMMS in 2009 and since then as a country we managed to establish community Midwifery Committees which will be trained in 2011 on their role within CARMMS and MNCH. CARMMS is one promising success story for the country because as it has great support from the Royalty to the general population in the communities. International Developmental Partners have committed millions of Emalangeni into the implementation of CARMMS plan.
FAMILY PLANNING
As a country we have recently introduced implants into our FP method mix. We started with Jadelle which became very popular to our clientele and during the 2011 we will also introduce the implanon.
PREVENTION OF MOTHER TO CHILD TRANSMISSION OF HIV
Progress has been made in improving geographical coverage of PMTCT of HIV from 3 sites in 2003, to 16 sites in 2004, 54 sites in 2005, 88 sites in 2006 to 137 sites out of 162 health facilities in 2009.
PMTCT guidelines were developed in and were then reviewed in 2010 which came major changes that include the following,
SRH National indicators
- Indicators with their measures
- Percentage of Pregnant women accessing ANC 97%
- Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) 36%
- Percentage of women delivering with assistance of Health Personnel 74%
- Maternal Mortality Rate 589/100 000
- Infant Mortality Rate 39/1000
- Total Fertility Rate 3.8
- Number of Male condoms distributed in 2010 10 452 400n
- Number of Female condoms distributed in 2010 174 404
- Percentage of HIV infected pregnant women receiving a complete course of PMTCT 67%
- HIV prevalence amongst pregnant women 41.1%
- Percentage of HIV infections in infants born to HIV positive mothers prevented. 56%
- Percentage of teenage pregnancy 24%
- Percentage of women receiving comprehensive post natal care 22%
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
For 2011 the SRH Unit plans to carry out the following activities:
MAIN ACTIVITIES SUBACTIVITIES
Development of working documents Finalize the SRH policy
Review the Integrated SRH strategic plan
- Develop the Virtual Elimination of MTCT of HIV Strategy
- Finalize Cervical Cancer Management guidelines
- Finalize the MNH road map
- Finalize the obstetric guidelines
Build capacity for Health Care Providers Conduct in-service trainings for HCPs on:
- Long term FP methods
- Cervical cancer screening and treatment
- IMAI/IMPAC
- EmNOC
- Logistics Management System
- Increase availability and access to quality SRH commodities Procure commodities and equipments as needed and planned
- Conduct promotions of selected SRH commodities to increase demand
- Engage communities in SRH dialogues
- Establish and strengthen community linkages
POLICY DOCUMENTS
Operations of the Sexual Reproductive Health are guided by the Integrated Sexual Reproductive Health Strategic plan (2008-2015). The ISRHSP is developed based on the National Strategic Framework and the National Health Strategic plan 2008-2013.
Documents the have been produced the Unit the guide and standard service provision and coordination includes the following;
- Sexual Reproductive Health Commodity security strategic plan 2009-2015
- National Condom Strategy 2010-2015
- National PMTCT guidelines 2010
- National Family Planning guidelines 2008