If we want women to have access to abortion and contraceptive care during the pandemic, we must make sure health workers feel safe doing their jobs. Our Ipas team in Nepal recently saw this firsthand. At a health center in a rural district of Nepal, providers felt unsafe giving women contraceptive implants because they lacked personal protective equipment (PPE). They had started only offering condoms and contraceptive pills, limiting women’s options. One provider told the Ipas Nepal team she had young children at home and simply could not risk infection. After Ipas delivered boxes of PPE to the facility, this same provider reported she felt happier and safer – and that the center had restarted implant services and already provided four women with implants in just two days.
The team delivered thousands of masks and gloves, plus eye protection, hand sanitizer, soap and other supplies to more than 300 health institutions, including inDuhabi and Biratnagar.
SOURCE: Ipas e-mail, 23 June 2020