Barriers and Facilitators of Access to and Use of Post-abortion Care Services in Refugee & Protection of Civilian Camps, South Sudan

Several decades of conflict and instability in South Sudan have severely impacted the country’s health infrastructure, inhibiting access to and use of quality sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, and has increased exposure to gender-based violence (GBV). The Government of South Sudan recently made a new commitment to the nation’s reproductive health with its enactment of the Reproductive Health Policy of 2019-2029 and the Reproductive Health Strategic Plan of 2019-2023.

Despite the importance of implementing post-abortion care (PAC) as a component of a comprehensive SRH strategy, South Sudan lacks comprehensive and updated PAC guidelines. Since 2011, International Medical Corps has worked to deliver healthcare, healthcare-related services and training through integrated interventions that strengthen the capacity of the public health system. In collaboration with International Medical Corps, the Reproductive Health Access, Information and Services in Emergencies (RAISE) Initiative at Columbia University a mixed methods study was conducted to identify the factors that influence access to, use and provision of PAC services at four International Medical Corps-supported facilities in two Protection of Civilian (PoC) camps in Juba, and two Sudanese refugee camps in Maban.

This technical brief provides background to the research, outlines the methodology, shares main findings, and notes key recommendations at the policy, systems, and community levels.