The Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Girls - UNFPA

Refugees must be involved in defining their own needs and in designing
and delivering appropriate family planning services. To encourage joint
responsibility for contraceptive choice and to maximize the acceptance <strong>of</strong> family
planning programmes within the community, men should be involved in the
process.
Ensuring contraceptive choice and supply is important to the provision <strong>of</strong>
family planning methods. <strong>The</strong> contraceptive preferences <strong>of</strong> the host country and
the availability contraceptives may vary from the preferences <strong>of</strong> refugees, and
this must be addressed. Quality services are not possible unless an
uninterrupted supply <strong>of</strong> contraceptives is ensured and staff members are
appropriately trained. Refugee women and men should have access to safe and
affordable family planning services in settings which are culturally appropriate
and convenient. Consideration should be given to contraceptive supply and staff
competence during the repatriation phase if human rights abuses are to be
avoided.
Safe Motherhood and Emergency Obstetrics. Pregnancy and childbirth
are recognized health risks for women in developing countries. UNICEF
estimates that 15 million women a year suffer long-term, chronic illness and
disability because they do not receive the care they need during pregnancy.
<strong>The</strong>se risks are magnified for women living in refugee settings, in which a
majority give birth in temporary shelters where conditions are hazardous both for
themselves and their children. Many refugee women are already seriously
physically weakened as a result <strong>of</strong> the trauma and deprivation associated with
their flight. <strong>The</strong> poor nutrition and stressful living conditions <strong>of</strong>ten associated with
camp settings only compound this problem.
Without safe motherhood interventions, many refugee women and their
newborns will die needlessly. <strong>The</strong> consequences <strong>of</strong> inaction affect the entire
refugee community and exacerbate the difficulties and instabilities <strong>of</strong> refugee life.
In refugee settings, a woman is <strong>of</strong>ten the main provider for her family. If she dies
her family is left without her care, support and protection.
Obstetrics emergencies include haemorrhage, sepsis, eclampsia,
obstructed labour and complications <strong>of</strong> abortion. <strong>The</strong>se symptoms can be
exacerbated in refugee settings due to the trauma <strong>of</strong> flight and life in exile, the
<strong>of</strong>ten poor sanitary conditions <strong>of</strong> camp settings and the generally lower levels <strong>of</strong>
health among refugee women.
In Albania, MSI undertook the training <strong>of</strong> service providers, including
government workers, as well as the strengthening <strong>of</strong> referral links to ensure that
refugees in camps as well as those living within the host community had access
to safe motherhood and emergency obstetric services.
51