2203-60219

The investment case for a novel letrozole-misoprostol medical abortion combipack

  Concept Foundation     Switzerland

Concept Foundation aims to demonstrate if a quality assured letrozole and misoprostol regimen for MA will serve as an affordable alternative treatment to the existing MA regimens and will increase access to safe medical abortion in low- and middle-income country markets. Concept Foundation will establish an investment case, providing information for decision making towards product development for letrozole as an abortifacient with misoprostol.

2207-54755

Using a platform approach to provide access to safe abortion in Cameroon

  Women for a Change, Cameroon     Cameroon

Women for a Change will adapt the existing digital platform, Tiko, designed by Triggerise to connect women and girls in the Mfoundi department to safe abortion and SRH services and information. Trained peer mobilizers will conduct outreach to engage individuals seeking safe abortion and SRH information and services to assist in enrolling them onto the platform to access information and peer-rated service providers. The platform will connect users to a local provider for subsidized MA and MVA services, post-abortion care and contraception counselling. As users engage with the Tiko platform, they will generate anonymized and confidential data in real-time to introduce a behavioural nudge to motivate positive health-seeking behaviours.

2207-54444

Expanding Access to Abortion Along Key Migration Routes in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)

  Ipas Mexico, A.C.      Mexico

Ipas Mexico aims to increase access to SRHR services and information and reduce the communication gap between migrants, civil society organizations, and governmental institutions through a free and confidential chatbot. An existing Spanish-enabled chatbot will be updated to include information catered specifically for migrants on SRHR, including safe abortion, gender-based violence, and a directory of health facilities, accompaniment groups and migrant-serving organizations where SRHR services can be availed. The digital tool will be designed, tested, and evaluated with the input and feedback of migrants, civil society organizations, and public health authorities.

2207-54535

Engaging doctors as agents of change to improve access to safe abortion in Mexico: an innovative network linking supportive physicians with acompañantes

  CONSORCIO DE INVESTIGACIÓN SOBRE VIH SIDA TB CISIDAT, A.C.       Mexico

Innovator Story: From Stigma to Solidarity: A Journey in Transforming Abortion Care

CISIDAT will collaborate with investigators at ECOSUR and activists across Mexico to support the creation of the first nationwide network of female pro-choice physicians in Mexico, engaging them to de-medicalize abortion, enhance interactions with acompañantes, increase access to safe medical abortion, and reduce stigma. Virtual trainings targeting physicians will be conducted to increase awareness on abortion guidelines, local laws, self-managed abortion, de-medicalization of abortion and accompaniment models, as well as establishing goals for the network. In-person workshops for physicians and acompañantes will promote trust, exchange of information and experiences, and promote collaboration with acompañantes. The evidence generated will be shared through open access publications and a book, and will be used to refine and adapt the network and training model for continued expansion in Mexico, and ultimately in other Latin American countries.

2207-54539

Community Based Opportunity desk for Safe Pregnancy Termination services in Bangui

  Voix Pour Les Femmes d’Afrique Centrale (VPFAC)         Central African Republic

VPFAC aims to increase access to safe pregnancy termination information and services (MA and MVA), particularly for women and girls who have experienced gender-based violence. Nurses and midwives will be trained on safe pregnancy termination services, post abortion care and the legal framework governing pregnancy termination. The trained providers will be responsible for operating community-based opportunity desks (sites within existing clinical facilities) to provide safe pregnancy termination services, counselling, post pregnancy termination care and family planning services. Trained community health task force agents will provide education and outreach activities through village based mobile clinics. These activities will include 1:1 education sessions, workshops, community gatherings, and radio shows to raise awareness on available safe abortion services and the abortion legal framework, as well as to break stigma around pregnancy termination. 150 local leaders will also be engaged to support community awareness raising efforts.

2206-54247

Creating a Community Based Self Sustaining Ecosystem for Improving Abortion Access

  Greenstar Social Marketing Pakistan         Pakistan

Innovator Story: Pioneering Accessible SRHR in Pakistan 

Greenstar Social Marketing Pakistan aims to decentralize abortion care and create an enabling environment that is safe and accessible for clients through community health workers (Sitara Baji) houses – a designated confined home-based solution. The Sitara Baji’s home will be converted to a Sitara House and become a community health hub for women and girls. The Sitara Bajis will be recruited and trained to deliver a holistic self-care package, including medical abortion, family planning, menstrual health and hygiene, mental health awareness, breast self-examination and pregnancy testing. The homes will as well offer primary health education and screening (such as health communication materials, weighing scales, blood pressure monitors and pregnancy testing kits) and be stocked with misoprostol, emergency contraceptive pills, condoms and sanitary pads. Tablets with 24/7 connectivity to a physician will be provided to Sitara Bajis, in case needed to help guide misoprostol administration and education on self-care packages. Additionally, Sitara Bajis will engage in outreach activities with community members and stakeholders to increase awareness and generate trust.

2208-54836

Setting the stage for regional scaling up of medical abortion via telemedicine in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

  Reproductive Health Training Center           Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, and Moldova

Reproductive Health Training Center aims in the current project to conduct formative research to assess the feasibility of extending the use of telemedicine medical abortion services to five Eastern European countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan). The telemedicine model has been successfully implemented in Moldova and is now seeking scale-up and implementation in the surrounding countries to increase access for abortion services. Working groups in each country were formed and helped to identify and collect data from relevant stakeholders related to MA service delivery barriers and the potential for MA telemedicine provisions. The innovation is now in process to operationalize the provision of MA via telemedicine in Kyrgyzstan, one of the five target countries.

2208-54944

Accelerating abortion self-care through digital direct-to-consumer models

  Reproductive Health Network Kenya             Kenya

Reproductive Health Network Kenya, in partnership with Ipas Africa Alliance, seeks to build on the successes of the ‘Nurse Nisa’ digital application to upgrade the platforms to include three new features to increase access to medical abortion further.
1. Connecting users with qualified-service providers and pharmacists to provide online or in-person prescriptions offer electronic payment options and the ability to mail medical abortion drugs within a 24 hours dispatch period to clients.
2. Integrate the WHO gestational age calculator for pharmacists and clients to support the confirmation of gestational age and decision-making
3. Integrate a digital accompaniment tool to provide step-by-step information on medical abortion self-care administration and psychosocial support through personalized conversations.
The innovation is in partnership with Ipas Africa Alliance, the developers of the ‘Nurse Nisa’ platform.

2207-54768

Using Machine Learning to improve access to safe abortion services among vulnerable populations

  William J Clinton Foundation              India

Innovator Story: From Fear to Acceptance: Supporting Young Women’s Reproductive Choices in Rural India 

The William J Clinton Foundation seeks to reduce the incidence of unsafe abortions by equipping Community Health Workers – public sector Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) – with the tools to identify and target at-risk women to increase their awareness of safe abortion methods and SRH. To identify at-risk women, a risk tool powered by AI and data will be developed in partnership with Surgo Venture. ASHAs will be provided with a paper-based format of the tool to help them assess women in their catchment areas on abortion risk factors. Following the identification of women from high-risk segments, ASHAs will be trained to provide tailored messages, aided by printed IEC material, to address knowledge gaps and unsafe behaviours.

2104-38171

Sailing the Boat, Sailing the Hope: SRHR counseling and information

  OPTions 6           Indonesia

OPTions 6 addresses the challenge of access to sexual and reproductive health information and services for women and girls in remote islands of Indonesia. OPTions 6 conducts educational workshops for women and girls on sexual and reproductive health. OPTions 6 also trains healthcare and community health providers to involve in a referral system supported by their hotline. This referral system links girls and women to services including counseling on sexual and reproductive health care. In cases of emergency, women and girls can access transportation to primary healthcare facilities by a boat owned and managed by local community women.