New WHO Project on Family and Community Health Launched

A new joint World Health Organization (WHO), Ministry of Health of Ukraine (MoH) and Vinnytsya Family Planning Association project "Preventing Unsafe Abortion" was launched in Ukraine towards the end of 2007.

A seminar followed by some training activities took place from 19 to 23 November in Kyiv to kick off implementation of the first phase of the project - an assessment of strategic issues related to unintended pregnancy in Ukraine. The participants set up research teams, identified the main areas for the assessment, developed and tested effective research tools. During 2008, the teams will assess available contractive and abortion services in Vinnytsya and Donestk regions identified as pilot due to their geographic location and economic and demographic indicators. The experts believe that results and recommendations received at the end can be applied to most regions of Ukraine.

The next two phases of the project include development and testing of a new model to prevent unsafe abortions, and scaling it up.

More on the project:

Within the past decade, Ukraine experienced considerable expansion of family planning services and, as a result,  a decline in both the abortion rate and ratio. Yet, there are several gaps in family planning, and abortion still remains common, with the abortion rate in Ukraine higher than in many European countries.

According to the 1999 Reproductive Health Survey, the percentage of women with unmet need of family planning services in Ukraine is very high, around 37%. This means that 4.6 million women remain at risk of unintended pregnancy.

The strategic assessment of unintended pregnancy services in Ukraine will assist to identify how to improve the quality of reproductive health in the country. It will also help the MoH to coordinate government and donor resources to strengthen family planning and abortion services.  

During the assessment, three critical elements will be analized: the needs of clients, the capacity and capabilities of the service delivery system, and the need for introducing new and/or removing outdated fertility-regulation technologies. The linkages between family planning and abortion services will also be examined.

The assessment will be carried out by two research teams (ten persons each) which would include representatives of the Ministry of Health Care, other ministries, the obstetric/gynecological community, universites, and NGOs.  It will employ individual interviews and group discussions with doctors and patients, and observation of contraception counselling and provision, as well as abortion procedures. The field test activities are planned for February-March 2008.


For more information on the project please contact
Dr. Anastasiya Dumcheva, Medical Officer, WHO CO in Ukraine
Tel. (38044) 425 8828 ext. 78411
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