Exploring the Feasibility of Establishing a Core Set of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health Indicators in Humanitarian Settings: Results from a Case Study in Afghanistan

Abstract

Collecting and aggregating timely and rigorous data for sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (SRMNCAH) services and outcomes evaluation in humanitarian settings is essential for accountability and transparency. However, reliable SRMCNAH data are scarce in such settings, and the quality of available data often varies across different humanitarian settings. Establishing a core set of SRMNCAH indicators that are feasible to collect in all humanitarian settings is the first step in developing and implementing a common core framework for monitoring SRMNCAH programs in such settings. Led by the World Health Organization, in 2018 a group of global experts in the SRMNCAH field proposed a core list of indicators for inclusion in routine data collection systems.

In 2019-2022, a team at the University of Ottawa in partnership with local investigators led multi-method feasibility assessments in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Jordan to understand the feasibility, relevance, and acceptability of the proposed core indictors. In this thesis I report on the results from the multi-methods assessment in Afghanistan. Based on a desk review, key informant interviews, facility assessments, facility observation sessions, and focus group discussions in three provinces, we explored national stakeholders’ perspectives on SRMNCAH data collection, in general, and the proposed indicator list, in particular. The findings of this assessment and the results from the other three countries will help stakeholders reach a consensus on the final list of SRMNCAH indicators that are feasible for collection in all humanitarian settings.