Guttmacher SRHR

This contribution increased Guttmacher’s efforts to bring rigorous scientific evidence to key SRHR debates at the country, regional and global levels. In addition to supporting original and secondary research, this grant enabled Guttmacher Institute to carry out robust dissemination efforts aimed at inspiring informed dialogue and thereby setting the stage for policy reforms and programmatic innovations. Over the course of the grant period, Guttmacher achieved a great deal of progress both in generating important scientific evidence and in getting that evidence into the hands of those in a position to use it. Key outcomes include: - Extensive uptake of the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission’s recommendations, including adoption of the integrated definition of SRHR by various actors and use of the recommendations in a range of policy documents including the European Commission’s Gender Action Plan and PMNCH’s Call to Action on Universal Health Coverage, among many others; - Successful application of Guttmacher data in informing major country investments in global SRHR; - Adoption by the UN of several SRHR indicators for measuring progress against the Sustainable Development Goals that were proposed by Guttmacher;- Use of findings from four-country study of comprehensive sex education to inform new curricula and teacher training programs in Ghana and Kenya;- Utilization of new evidence on abortion in Zimbabwe in key policy debates; - Increased capacity in research methods and evidence-based advocacy among project partners. It is not unexpected that the Lancet Guttmacher commission got the attention it got, but it reached further and influenced policy at a magnitude tha was difficult to predict.

The ultimate goal of GI is to ensure that all adolescents enjoy the highest standard of SRHR, and that all women have the means to control their fertility safely and with dignity, including through high-quality, legal abortion care. The proposal supports the attainment of this goal as its purpose or outcome is the: increased access on the part of adolescents and women to the full range of SRHR services and information. GI will achieve this outcome by: 1) producing actionable and objective scientific research; 2) disseminating findings strategically to influence media coverage and public discourse; and, 3) working with policymakers and other key stakeholders to effect change in policies, programs and medical practice. GI’s theory of change holds that scientific evidence - when properly collected and analyzed, compellingly presented, and systematically disseminated - can make a difference in policies, programs and medical practice.