India – Overview of Country Activities:
Findings from operations research studies and
evidence from small-scale initiatives have demonstrated
a demand for the Standard Days Method (SDM) in
India. The Institute of Reproductive Health is
collaborating with new organizations, including
the Constella/Futures Group, to provide SDM services
in select districts of Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal
and the Catholic Bishops Conference of India.
The Institute continues to document lessons learned
and experiences as they scale -up SDM services
with new partners and organizations. In the past
year, partnerships were established with NGOs
affiliated with PLAN International serving isolated,
rural desert communities, fisher folk and tribal
communities in Orissa and Rajasthan.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in
collaboration with UNFPA, has developed a Contraceptive
Update Reference Manual for doctors in the public
and private sector which includes the SDM. In
addition to this, the Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare, the Government of Jharkand, KGVK (a corporate
NGO) and the Institute are partnering on the implementation
of a study to examine provider bias, diffusion
of knowledge about the SDM, and the effects of
SDM introduction on contraceptive prevalence and
caseloads in two blocks of the Ranchi district
in Jharkhand.
In the past several months, several hundred community
level providers including Anganwadi Workers (in
collaboration with CARE and the Women and Child
Department of the Government of Jharkand) and
registered medical practitioners have been trained
in and are providing SDM services.
Photo Gallery:
Partners:
- CARE India
- CASP (Delhi, Pune & Kerala)
- CEDPA India
- Constella/Futures Group
- The Government of Jharkhand
- KGVK
- Pathfinder International
- PREM
- URMUL
- World Vision
News
Recent SDM projects in India have included the
following evaluations, activities and events:
The recently completed evaluation of the “Awareness
Project” (under which the India program
is supported) concludes that scaling up efforts
in Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand offer an excellent,
though challenging opportunity to integrate the
SDM into comprehensive family planning services
for a very large population. Furthermore, the
evaluation team suggests that SDM integration
could contribute significantly to the government’s
goal of expanding contraceptive choices and improving
pregnancy spacing.
- A paper titled “Expanding
Contraceptive Choice: Results of Standard Days
Method Integration in India and the Philippines”
was presented by Priya Jha at the 3rd APCRSH
(Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and
Sexual Health) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
in November 2005.
- An advocacy workshop was held
with representatives from print and electronic
media on the significance of expanding contraceptive
options and the SDM in Jharkhand in February
2006. This event, which was attended by 38 representatives
from the media, was covered widely by television
and newspapers.
- On March 7th, International
Women’s Day, a special program on family
planning, birth spacing and the SDM was telecast
on the Gram Sat by the NGO URMUL in Rajasthan.
This interactive event was attended by approximately
800 women from the rural desert communities
of Bikaner. The Gram Sat is an initiative of
the India Space Research Organization which
facilitates the use of spatial and geo-spatial
technologies for development activities using
remote sensing and geographic information systems.
Field Notes
India:
Introducing the Standard Days Method in Rural
and Urban Communities
Building
Partnerships to Expand SDM Services in India
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