6867 research outputs found
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Social protection systems in India: Impact of self-help groups on access to and employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
No full textPolicy makers increasingly emphasise the importance of setting up social protection systems to ensure coordination of intersectoral efforts. We contribute to the literature on social protection systems by examining how two of the largest social protection programmes in the world interact. Specifically, we assess the impact of participation in a scaled-up self-help group (SHG) program on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) employment outcomes in Bihar, India. We use administrative data from India’s National Rural Livelihoods Mission about SHGs implemented under the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project and MGNREGS from 2013 to 2020 and merge those data with data from a randomised controlled trial of the rollout of SHGs in Bihar. We use an instrumental variable regression analysis to examine the impact of SHG membership on access to job cards and employment under MGNREGS. We find statistically significant effects indicating that an increase of 100 SHG members results in 26 additional MGNREGS job cards applied for, and 14 additional households that are provided MGNREGS employment. We find evidence for larger impacts for scheduled caste and scheduled tribe households, but no evidence for differences in impacts between men and women
Improving HIV prevention among heterosexual men seeking sexually transmitted infection services in Malawi: Protocol for a Type I effectiveness-implementation hybrid randomized controlled trial of systems navigator–delivered integrated prevention package (HPTN 112-NJIRA Study)
No full textBackground: Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) remains one of the most efficacious interventions for preventing HIV, but its effectiveness is often limited by poor persistence. Although regional efforts have primarily focused on young women and men who have sex with men, heterosexual men in East and Southern Africa represent a crucial group to engage and retain in PrEP care—both to improve health outcomes for men and to interrupt HIV transmission chains. Men seeking sexually transmitted infection (STI) services are particularly vulnerable to HIV acquisition, yet only a few interventions have tested strategies for engaging and retaining these men in PrEP services. Systems navigation, which addresses barriers to health care access and enhances comfort in clinical settings, may offer a promising approach to improving persistent PrEP use among heterosexual men. Objective: This study will assess the effect of a peer-delivered systems navigator–facilitated HIV prevention package on PrEP persistence at 26 weeks among heterosexual men seeking STI clinical services in Lilongwe, Malawi. It will also evaluate the acceptability of the intervention and barriers to implementation among key stakeholders. Insights will inform the feasibility of a future randomized controlled trial. Methods: In this single-site pilot type I effectiveness-implementation hybrid randomized controlled trial, 200 heterosexual men seeking STI services and initiated on PrEP in Lilongwe, Malawi, will be randomized (1:2) to standard-of-care PrEP services or systems navigator–assisted PrEP care (intervention). Participants will be followed every 13 weeks for at least 26 and up to 52 weeks. PrEP use and engagement in care will be assessed through medical record review and intraerythrocytic tenofovir diphosphate measurement, using objective biomedical analyses via dried blood spot. Primary effectiveness and implementation outcomes include 26-week PrEP persistence (adapted to accommodate daily oral, event-driven oral, or injectable PrEP) and acceptability, respectively. Additional implementation outcomes include feasibility and cost. Exploratory objectives characterize preferences for PrEP modalities, perceived and experienced stigma, and the influence of gender norms on PrEP persistence. All clinical services, including the provision of PrEP and PrEP safety monitoring, are being conducted by the Malawi Ministry of Health. Results: HPTN (HIV Prevention Trials Network) 112 was funded in November 2023. Study recruitment began in April 2024 and closed in November 2024. As of February 3, 2025, the study has enrolled 199 participants, with follow-up expected through June 2025. No interim analyses were planned; data analysis for primary end points is expected in the summer of 2025. Conclusions: Improving PrEP use outcomes among heterosexual men in East and Southern Africa is critical to interrupting HIV transmission. This study offers unique insights into a low-resource, potentially scalable intervention, focusing on a group of men at particularly high risk of HIV acquisition—those with recent STIs. The hybrid RCT design addresses clinically relevant effectiveness questions and explores key determinants that will inform future multisite implementation trials
Development of a transdermal gel for reversible male contraception
No full textWhile there are several easy-to-use reversible female contraceptives, little is available for men. Introduction of novel, cost-effective male contraceptives could have important downstream global health and economic benefits. Currently, nearly half of all pregnancies globally are unintended, with many resulting in unsafe abortions, a significant burden for women and families in many countries.Available reversible options for male contraception include male condoms or withdrawal, both with high typical use failure rates, and vasectomy which is not easily reversible. Advanced methods of male hormonal contraception include combinations of progestin and androgen, generally testosterone itself. Administration of these steroids results in suppression of gonadotropins leading to the suppression of sperm production with full reversibility within a few months. Importantly, the exogenous androgen replaces the suppressed endogenous testosterone, minimizing side effects for the user. Using the skin to deliver steroids in the systemic circulation is a well-accepted concept both for treatment of hypogonadism and contraception. A transdermal gel delivering Nestorone® (segesterone acetate) and testosterone is under development and is leading the way in advancing novel, self-delivered methods of male hormonal contraception
Girl Innovation, Research, and Learning (GIRL) Center: Innovation Hub Overview 2025
Full text linkThe GIRL Center, established in 2017 at the Population Council, envisions a gender-equitable world, where adolescents, especially girls make a healthy and safe transition into adulthood and reach their full potential. This brief provides an overview of the GIRL Center, an innovation hub of the Population Council
Beneath the surface: Exploring socio-economic vulnerabilities of street-connected boys in Dhaka city, Bangladesh
Full text linkReport published by the Freedom Fund.
Street-connected boys in Dhaka, Bangladesh, face significant socio-economic vulnerabilities due to factors such as poverty, family instability, migration, lack of education and exclusion from social support systems. Many of these boys also struggle with food insecurity, hazardous work conditions, substance abuse and exposure to violence.
Building on the survey by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF (2022) on street children, this study examines the socio-economic vulnerabilities of street-connected boys in high-risk areas of Dhaka city, a subgroup often overlooked in broader national surveys. It provides more localised and in-depth insights into the lives of boys living and working in Dhaka, including their experiences of commercial sexual exploitation. These findings help to fill critical knowledge gaps and support context-responsive interventions
Capacity of the health system to provide safe abortion and post-abortion care in refugee settings in Ethiopia: Evidence Brief
Full text linkThe Baobab Research Programme Consortium (RPC), in collaboration with the Guttmacher Institute, implemented the application of the Abortion Incidence Complications Method (AICM) in refugee settings in Ethiopia. Little is known about the health system’s capacity to provide post-abortion care (PAC) or safe abortion care (SAC) services as these have been less studied, especially in the context of refugee settings. This brief assesses the availability of SAC and PAC for women living in humanitarian settings in Ethiopia
Community directed-based approaches to promote uptake of Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine for intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy: Endline findings from Kisumu and Migori Counties
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From Data to Dignity: Scaling SRHR and FP Innovations for Refugee Communities in Africa
No full textSlide deck for special session at the International Family Planning Conference (ICFP 2025) in Bogotá, Colombia