AdSEARCH

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (AdSEARCH) Project by icddr,b is a cross-divisional, multi-year research project supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD). The project began on March 2021 and will end on September 2025. The project aims to improve sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes and realisation of rights among different population groups with distinct SRH needs in Bangladesh, which include adolescents and young people, newly-wed couples, pregnant women, women working in the ready-made garments sector (RMG) and people with diverse gender and sexual orientation.
The project focuses on generating new evidence and influencing policy and programme design related to SRHR, including family planning, gender equality, abortion and post-abortion care, STIs/RTIs, reproductive cancers and maternal and neonatal health. It also focuses on nutrition among children and adolescent girls as a cross-cutting issue affecting reproductive health across the lifespan. AdSEARCH is being implemented through five work packages (WPs) and several other project components, including digital data capture and online visualization, knowledge translation and capacity development. The project supports the agency and autonomy of women and girls in demanding, accessing and practising SRHR. The project also supports icddr,b’s institutional efforts to provide COVID-19 services to SRHR beneficiaries.

WHAT WE DO

AdSEARCH is being implemented through five work packages (WPs):

WORK PACKAGE 1

WP1, which links to the first and second levels of the SRHR pathway, includes community-based research on the SRHR target population. In this work package, we will establish cohorts of adolescents and young people (10– 24 years), newly married couples, and pregnant women in four sites and a cohort of women in the RMG sector in Dhaka, who will all be followed for 30-36 months to collect epidemiological and social science information relevant to SRH burden and risk factors. We want to gain in-depth understanding of the needs of the various population groups, SRHR-related care-seeking practices and programme coverage and how this may have been impacted by COVID-19. We will conduct several epidemiological and social science studies to supplement the cohort studies with a deeper understanding of the emerging issues.

WORK PACKAGE 2

WP2, which links to the second and third levels of the SRHR Pathway, includes facility-based SRHR services, research and assessments. A one-time national survey of a representative sample of health facilities will be undertaken to expand our understanding of the challenges and opportunities with facility-based SRHR services. Following that, a set of primary, secondary, and tertiary-level public facilities serving the WP1 cohorts will be identified, and a facility surveillance system will be established. Repeated assessments will take place in each of these facilities to collect information regarding the availability, readiness, utilisation and quality of SRH services.

WORK PACKAGE 3

WP3, which links to all three levels of the SRHR Pathway, includes an innovation hub for SRHR interventions to address some of the stressing concerns and challenges in Bangladesh and similar settings with limited resources. The invention and innovation hub will foster the culture of creative thinking and encourage bold ideas within and beyond icddr,b for finding novel public health solutions to SRHR needs and challenges. A multi-disciplinary team of icddr,b researchers with relevant skill and experience, will form the hub. We aim to design, develop and test a series of novel products and approaches through the hub. The invention and innovation hub will promote local ingenuity, people-centred designs and country ownership. Young researchers at icddr,b will be awarded small competitive grants to develop and test innovations to improve the SRH status of people with distinct needs in Bangladesh.

WORK PACKAGE 4

WP4, which links to the first and second levels of the SRHR Pathway, includes studies with key population groups (e.g. people who use drugs, people with diverse gender and sexual orientations, various categories of sex workers). While the planned cohort and facility-based studies (WP1 and WP2) will provide a base for the vast majority of the proposed SRHR research under this project, as well as for measuring some key SRHR indicators during the project period, we will also conduct a few additional stand-alone research studies, particularly those in the key populations. Key populations will be identified for both one-time survey-based assessments, and when needed, prospective follow-up. These special populations will be identified in Jessore and Khulna as well as other locations if required by the research question.

WORK PACKAGE 5

WP5, which links to the second and third levels of the SRHR pathway, includes establishing a model of developing and implementing sustainable nutrition service delivery platforms for the urban poor. In this package, we propose to establish a model of developing and implementing sustainable nutrition service delivery platforms for the urban poor. The proposed work will be done in some selected slums of Dhaka city. We will do formative work to identify the needs of the vulnerable group of pregnant and lactating women, under-five children and adolescent girls living in the identified slums. The interventions will be a combination of nutrition-specific interventions, water, sanitation, and hygiene measures, and in-kind transfers of nutritious food.