Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant lockdowns have brought unprecedented challenges
for Maternal, Sexual and Reproductive Health (MSRH) services. Components of MSRH services
adversely affected include antenatal, postnatal, and newborn care; provision of family planning and
post-abortion care services; sexual and gender-based violence care and prevention; and care and
treatment for sexually transmitted infections including HIV. Resuscitating, remodeling or inventing
interventions to restore or maintain these essential services at the community level, as a gateway to
higher care, is critical to mitigating short and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on essential
MSRH. We propose a possible framework for community involvement and propose integrating key
information, education, and communication of MSRH messages within COVID-19 messages.
