Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH2ACTION)

Humanity & Inclusion works with women and girls with disabilities to break down barriers to essential sexual and reproductive health services and information.

Girls in Nakivale refugee camp, Uganda, receive sanitary products from Humanity & Inclusion | © HI

Overview

Project Duration: August 2018 to May 2024

Consortium Contract Value (Lot 2): £164.8 million

HI Budget for WISH2ACTION: £9.6 million

Countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Pakistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda

Summary

Women and adolescent girls with disabilities face profound and systemic barriers to accessing essential Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) information and services. These barriers stem from a complex intersection of disability, gender, and age, leading to stigma, discrimination, inaccessible facilities, a lack of trained health service providers, and communication challenges. Consequently, this population is at higher risk of sexual violence, unmet family planning needs, unintended pregnancies, and maternal complications.

We served as the key technical disability inclusion partner in the WISH2ACTION project. The project’s core strategy was to ‘leave no one behind’ by ensuring equitable access to family planning and sexual and reproductive health services. The project focussed on providing quality integrated and inclusive family planning and SRHR services to marginalised populations, including persons with disabilities, young people, and poor communities. The project operated through a ‘cluster model’, which involved strong cooperation between public and private partners, including Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), to promote inclusion.

Humanity & Inclusion’s involvement was guided by its broader commitment to ensuring the right to health and wellbeing for women and adolescent girls with disabilities in all their diversity. Over its lifespan, the WISH2ACTION project generated an estimated 29.5 million couple years of protection, averted 4.3 million unsafe abortions, and prevented 21,379 maternal deaths.

Our aims

To support consortium partners in mainstreaming disability inclusion into the implementation of inclusive SRHR.
To ensure equitable access to family planning and sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls with disabilities.
To address the multiple barriers faced by women and girls with disabilities, such as stigma, discrimination, inaccessible facilities, and lack of trained health service providers, which hinder their access to SRHR information and services.
To generate learning at regional and global levels regarding disability-inclusive SRHR.
To promote the meaningful participation of women and girls with in SRHR initiatives.

Funded by

Additional Materials

Download our additional project materials.

Summary (English) (PDF, 7.84MB)

Summary (Spanish) (PDF, 7.86MB)

iSRHR Guidelines (PDF, 6.6MB)

Areas of Action

Health

Activities

Capacity building and training

We developed and delivered training packages for health workers, OPDs, and government representatives on disability-inclusive SRHR services. This included modules on disability inclusion, inclusive SRHR services, and the use of the Washington Group Questions and Social Behavioural Change Communications. We also provided capacity building through webinars, events with consortium partners, technical materials, and guidelines for supporting SRHR actors and practitioners who are active at the local level.

Guidelines download (PDF, 6.68 MB)

Policy and coordination mechanisms

We supported the establishment of Cluster Management Committees at the local level in Bangladesh, comprising government representatives, social services, service providers, and OPDs, to advocate for disability-inclusive SRHR. At the national level in Bangladesh, we facilitated the formation of a government Disability Inclusive Technical Working Group to develop a Standard Operating Procedure for persons with disabilities.

Inclusive information and communication

Through regular project activities, we disseminated accurate information about the availability of SRH services and centres. We contributed to the development of inclusive Social Behavioural Change Communications messages, customising existing materials and converting approved digital health information into audio formats for persons with hearing impairment, ensuring broader accessibility. We also supported the distribution of mobile animated videos made by partner DMI, which challenge social norms and address stigma around SRHR for young people with disabilities.

Engagement with Orgnisations of Persons wih Disabilities (OPDs)

We engaged OPDs to support demand creation for SRHR services, disseminate information, provide referrals to health facilities, and advocate for disability-inclusive services at both community and facility levels. This also included representing persons with disabilities in coordination efforts like Cluster Management Committees.

Assessing barriers and improving accessibility

We conducted assessments to identify barriers at health facilities and based on the findings, we implemented accessibility improvements. For example, in Bangladesh, we piloted changes like ramps, accessible toilets, and tactile markings in eight family planning service centres and health facilities.

Data collection and management

To address gaps in data, we prepared beneficiary lists using the Washington Group Questionnaire. The project promoted the collection of disability-disaggregated data in health and SRHR using the Washington Group Short Set of Questions to improve programming and services.

Selected results and impact

3.5 million additional users of modern contraception methods and a total of 8.4 million family planning users.
The programme is estimated to have averted 21,579 maternal deaths, over 4 million unsafe abortions, and over 13 million unintended pregnancies.
More than 2,500 healthcare providers received training in inclusive sexual and reproductive health practices.
There was an increase in clients with disabilities accessing SRHR and family planning services, increasing from 8% to 10% in 2020 across 11 countries.
Approximately 76 million people were reached with mass media campaigns in seven countries in East and Southern Africa, including 5,078 people directly informed about health information.

Stories from South Sudan

Rhoda, a visually impaired single mother, found her life changed through the WISH project. After participating in capacity-building training, community dialogues, and awareness sessions, she gained valuable knowledge about family planning and SRHR. Empowered by this information, she not only embraced family planning for herself but also became a champion and advocate in her community. As a senior woman, she now provides crucial guidance to other women and girls and actively supports young people at the school for the blind, ensuring they have the information she once lacked. Her journey demonstrates the project's success in empowering individuals to become leaders and advocates for change.

‘I have realized that it is fundamental for the rights and wellbeing of women, girls, boys and men with disabilities to have effective inclusive SRHR services. This is to ensure that our adolescent girls and adults with disabilities can avoid adverse health and socioeconomic consequences of unintended pregnancy and have a satisfying sexual life like any other person. Previously, I used to think that [people with disabilities] were not sexually active.’ – Nurse from South Sudan, reflecting on the training

Project partners

WISH2ACTION was led by International Planned Parenthood Federation, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with the following partners: