Dear HIFA colleagues,
The message below is forwarded from the WHO Guideline group at the IBP Network. Unfortunately the paper does not appear to be available in Portuguese. HIFA has repeatedly called for all national/local research to be available in the main language(s) where the research was undertaken. The needs of Portuguese speakers are often unmet because Portuguese is not one of the six official languages of WHO (although it is included among the official languages of AFRO and PAHO).
WHOguidelines@groups.ibpnetwork.org
[WHOguidelines] New Publication - COVID pandemic, SRH and Brazil health system response. Findings from WHO/HRP Multi-Country Study
Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to share with you a new paper from Brazil, titled “Disruption and recovery of family planning, contraception and other sexual and reproductive health services in Brazil with COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed methods approach”, part of a broader multi-country research initiative. This publication offers valuable insights into Brazil’s health system and its evolution, with implications for policy and practice. http://bit.ly/45BUR82
It is part of a broader multi-country study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic by the World Health Organization’s Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research (WHO/HRP). This mixed-methods study was carried out across nine countries - Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, England, Ghana, Italy, Kenya, Pakistan, and Thailand.
The study documents the significant disruptions experienced by sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services during the pandemic and highlights both persistent challenges and areas of recovery in the aftermath.
Key findings from Brazil include:
• Marked reductions in availability and utilization of family planning, antenatal, and postnatal services during the peak of the pandemic.
• Disruptions in contraceptive supply chains, leading to stockouts in some facilities.
• Increased reliance on telehealth services for SRH consultations, though access remained uneven across regions.
• Gradual recovery of most SRH services in the post-pandemic period, but with persistent gaps in adolescent-focused services.
• Health workforce shortages and redeployment to COVID-19 care as a major contributing factor to service disruption.
Further publications from the multi-country research will be released soon, and we look forward to sharing more findings as they become available.
Please feel free to share among your networks.
Best Regards
Moazzam
Moazzam Ali MD,PhD, MPH
Medical officer/ Epidemiologist
Geneva, Switzerland
E.mail: alimoa@who.int
Telephone: +41227913442 (CET Time zone)
ORCID: Moazzam’s ORCID X/Twitter : @Moazzam2000
www.who.int/hrp
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org