Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH) in Bangladesh: Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated and drawn fresh attention to long-standing systemic weaknesses in health and economic systems. The virus – and the public health response – has wrought significant disruption on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) in Bangladesh. Known negative health outcomes include increased domestic and gender-based violence, child marriage, negative mental health, and adverse child health outcomes. This scoping paper for the Covid-19 Learning, Evidence and Research Programme for Bangladesh (CLEAR) aims to inform future research and policy engagement to support response, recovery, progress, and future health system resilience for SRHR and MNCH in Bangladesh, following the Covid-19 crisis. We present what is known on disruptions and impacts, as well as evidence gaps and priority areas for future research and engagement.

‘What are you doing here?’: (mis)trust, COVID-19 pandemic, and sexual reproductive health rights

“…The provision of services for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) was seriously affected due to social containment measures that disrupted and restricted access to and utilisation of these services (Caruana-Finkel 2020, Hyrink et al 2022, Wood et al 2021. While the effects of the pandemic on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) are not immediately known, early analyses showed a decline in modern contraceptive use (Dasgupta et al 2020).…”