SRHIP: Sexual & Reproductive Health Integration Project

Past project

The Sexual & Reproductive Health Integration Project (SRHIP) is a dynamic partnership of Papua New Guinea (PNG) Catholic Church Health Services (CCHS), Burnet Institute, ASHM and Igat Hope.

Led and managed by CCHS, the consortium combines PNG and HIV experience with complementary skills, services and resources. It's uniquely positioned to make a major impact on the delivery of HIV and SRH services and outcomes.

Objective

HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) along with co-morbid presentations (notably, tuberculosis) continue to present significant health, social and economic challenges in PNG.

Factors affecting sexual and reproductive health (SRH) for women, girls and vulnerable groups include:

gender inequality
traditional gender roles
early marriage
bride price resulting in perceived ownership of women
high rates of physical and sexual violence
poor awareness of prevention and management of SRH issues
low levels of condom use.

The sexual health clinical workforce in PNG has limited access to continuing professional development that promotes reflective practice, supports the introduction of updated clinical guidelines and builds advanced practice.

There is an ongoing need for development of an evidence base, through grounded operational and clinical research, to enable scale-up of effective and efficient SRH services.

Timeline

June 2017–December 2022.

Approach

CCHS and Anglicare PNG have been central to the HIV response in PNG. Changes to the funding environment, along with advances in treatment and technology, demand innovative approaches to continued delivery of essential SRH services.

SRHIP will ensure continued and responsive provision of HIV and STI services to CCHS and Anglicare PNG without duplicating national health mechanisms. It will also strategically address integration, sustainability and scale-up of quality SRH services within primary health care.

The SRHIP program has been delivered in two stages.

Phase 1: 2017-2020

The programmatic focus was integration of standalone HIV services into CCHS' primary health services. This would ensure long-term sustainability of HIV and SRH services with funding sourced through the Diocese and Provincial Health Authorities.

Phase 2: 2020-2023

Here, the priority is to integrate the HIV and SRH services into the broader health system, enabling CCHS to compliment and align with the government-led public health services.

Furthermore, Phase 2 places increased focus on:

up-skilling CCHS staff
improving access to HIV and SRH services to key population groups
strengthening partnerships with Provincial Health Authorities.

Community Impact

Results

SRHIP will expand reach and coverage of STI, HIV, SRH and primary health services within CCHS and Anglicare PNG.

The project will develop integrated SRH and primary health service models. This will build on strengths of current facility operations, seeking to increase quality, scale-up and efficiency for long-term sustainability.

There will be a specific focus on integration of standalone HIV clinics into the primary health system and establishing referral pathways to broader SRH services.

Outcomes

SRHIP will deliver sustainable outcomes by integrating the existing 22 CCHS HIV standalone clinics and 2 Anglicare PNG Clinics into broader SRH services within the primary health care system.