Abortion will only be safe when countries ensure universal access with adequate supplies, a trained workforce that meets established clinical guidelines, and stigma-free, human rights-friendly services that address community needs.
As part of our strategy to advance the implementation of abortion services, during 2023:
In collaboration with Flasog, we delivered 44 Values Clarification for Attitude Transformation (VCAT) workshops on SRD to 18 Flasog-affiliated societies. We trained a total of 1,186 health professionals, including medical, nursing, psychology, pharmacy and medical students. The result of this process was shared at the XXIV World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics, in Paris, France, through the poster Building Alliances with Medical Societies to Promote Human Rights-Based Values in Sexual and Reproductive Health.
We developed and disseminated the Quick Reference Guide for Health Professionals which provides key elements for Comprehensive Abortion Care (CAC) and Post Abortion Care (PAC).
We also co-facilitated the first meeting of obstetricians with participants from five countries in the region: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru. The purpose of this event was to reflect on the vital role of these professionals in ensuring safe abortion services. A total of 32 obstetricians attended, which contributed significantly to the discussion and exchange of knowledge about the importance of their work in this crucial area of reproductive health.
We implemented the internship program focused on the provision of abortion services during the advanced stages of pregnancy in Argentina, Chile, El Salvador and Honduras, training a total of 64 obstetrician-gynecologists.
We successfully graduated 14 Centers of Best Practices (CBP) in Argentina as part of the support we provide to the health system and the capacity building of health professionals in the country.
Building on our experience in the creation of the regional safe abortion chatbot with Sofia and the design of the sexual violence and safe abortion chatbot for migrants, we provided technical and technological assistance to CEDES for the development of ERAa virtual assistant that provides reliable and trustworthy clinical and legal information for a comprehensive approach to abortion. In addition, we contributed to the development of a series of fact sheets on key aspects of VTP/ILE for health professionals in training.
We trained 119 health care providers and 148 gender-based violence counselors on safe abortion, in collaboration with Corporación Miles en Chile.
We reached 239 health professionals who enrolled in the virtual classroom. virtual classroom self-managed learning, mainly from Mexico, Argentina and Panama. In addition, we designed four new courses: Clinical Protocols for Uterine Evacuation, Provision of SRH Services from a HRHRD Approach, Supply Chain, International Classification of Diseases (ICD) Codes, which offer a technical update in a self-managed modality, focused on essential topics that health personnel who care for women and people with gestational capacity should know to ensure timely access and quality care. These courses were created based on regional hearings and diverse legal frameworks.
We recorded a total of 8,362 visits to our Ipas LAC Web platform for health professionals.4,244 individuals, mainly from Mexico, the U.S., Peru, Colombia and Venezuela. Of these individuals, 140 chose to register in the network of abortion providers, which, by the end of 2023, has more than 1,949 professionals committed to the health of women and people with gestational capacity. This network received information to strengthen the provision of SRH abortion services.
In coordination with Profamilia in Colombia, we collaborated with 5 universities in Cartagena, Bogota, Bucaramanga and Neiva, to promote the right to safe abortion through 6 seminars on health and SRHR and abortion, in which we trained 413 people.
In collaboration with the University of El Salvador, we trained 39 medical students in SRH, enabling them to obtain their degree. In addition, we trained 22 teachers through the Training of Trainers (ToT) methodology , focusing on human rights and SRH issues.
We strengthened access to contraceptive services at the first level of care in El Salvador by training 48 direct health service providers and 40 community promoters, which made it possible to provide contraceptive services to a total of 34,384 users.
See all workforce and health care delivery actions in the PDF version of our report.
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