Publication: Better Reproductive Health for Poor Women in South Asia
Date
2007-05
ISSN
Published
2007-05
Author(s)
Chatterjee, Meera
Levine, Ruth
Rao-Seshadri, Shreelata
Murthy, Nirmala
Abstract
The overall purpose of this review is to
bring attention to the opportunities that five countries in
the region - Bangladesh, India, Nepal Pakistan and Sri Lanka
have to strengthen and expand interventions to improve the
reproductive health of poor women. The report's
specific objectives are: 1) to provide an accurate picture
of the current status of women's reproductive health
and describe the use of reproductive health services and
barriers to use; 2) to identify individual and household
characteristics that affect reproductive health status and
use of services; 3) to develop a simple and effective
approach to decentralized health planning that can be used
widely in each of the five countries to improve health
service delivery and outcomes locally; and 4) to strengthen
the case for investing in poor women's reproductive
health by demonstrating the links between poverty,
inequality and reproductive health. The review puts forth
the following recommendations for reforms for reproductive
health: to increase the supply of reproductive health
services to poor women and adolescents by specifically
targeting the poorest areas and households; to enhance
demand among the poor for key services using BCC and
demand-side financing; to integrate reproductive health
services through a client-centered approach and strengthen
weak services using specific relevant approaches; and to
improve the reach, quality and status of women providers by
better training, deployment and support are the
'frontline' improvements required for better
reproductive health among poor women in South Asia.
Citation
“Chatterjee, Meera; Levine, Ruth; Rao-Seshadri, Shreelata; Murthy, Nirmala. 2007. Better Reproductive Health for Poor Women in South Asia. © World Bank. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/57a65d96-b28a-5837-8555-d7b7833495c9 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”