Reinforcing Essential Comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare Services for Vulnerable Populations in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States The humanitarian crisis in Northeast Nigeria which has been on-going for 12 years has led to need for the provision of essential SRH services across many locations to serve displaced and vulnerable population groups. The project aims to ensure the continuation and strengthening of essential SRH services in identified 8 Local Government Areas (LGAs) – Bama, Dikwa, Monguno, Ngala (Borno State) Numan, Madagali and Mubi (Adamawa State) and Potiskum (Yobe State). 

Following the announcement by the Governor of Borno of his intention to close all IDP Camps in Maiduguri by May 2021, the Borno State Government has continued to return and relocate IDPs to locations in and around their areas of origin, despite the worsening security situation and call for caution by the humanitarian community. Intensified attacks by Boko Haram on return locations such as Damasak, Gajiram, and Marte, have caused IDPs who had been returned to these locations by the Government to flee, with some of them returning to the camps they were initially relocated from. Some of the returnees were unable to receive timely SRH humanitarian assistance as they had been de-registered from the camps when they were returned to their LGAs. Adamawa and Yobe State had pockets of insurgent attacks and other emerging crisis of Flood displacement, Cholera outbreak and Farmers-Herders’ violent clashes as reported in the humanitarian situational updates. 

According to the Health Resources Availability Monitoring System (HeRAMS) conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2017, more than 50 percent of all the health facilities in the BAY States are not functioning, mostly as a result of lack of access due to insecurity. In the same report, more than 50 percent of all the health facilities, essential newborn care is not available. SRH services are being impacted by the crisis as well as the COVID-19 pandemic and must be prioritized. Before the emergence of COVID-19, Thirty-five percent of health facilities in the affected states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe were damaged as a result of conflict. Despite the efforts of UNFPA and other partners to remedy the situation, there are gaps. 

 It has been very imperative to always address issues relating to Sexual and Reproductive health (SRH) in emergencies because it has proven to prevent morbidity and mortality of women and girls while protecting the right of the affected community to life with dignity. 

The aim of the project is to enhance access and reach of well-coordinated lifesaving SRH services for individuals especially women and girls of reproductive age at risk within the BAY States. The focus of reinforcing essential services is to achieve such lasting improvement in the conditions of affected persons as much as possible as the crisis persists.

The project aims to.    

1.	Improve the provision of comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health services in Borno and Yobe States, including procurement and prepositioning of essential medicines and life-saving Sexual and Reproductive Health Kits for effective management of survivors of sexual assault, delivery of other RH services and management of complications. 
2.	Increase community demand through sensitization of communities to boost service uptake.
3.	Revitalize systemic linkages to boost recovery in promotion the of humanitarian to development interface 

To enhance skills and ensure the delivery of quality services, the capacity of local implementing partners will be boosted through trainings in keeping with the localization agenda.