Study Overview

According to the global evidence, key populations (KPs) experience various sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) burdens. Unmet needs for ailments such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human papillomavirus (HPV), Neisseria Gonorrhoea (NG), Chlamydia Trachomatis (CT), cervical cancer, and unintended pregnancies still unexplored. A very little systematic research using mixed method approach was conducted among KPs in Bangladesh to find out the needs and burden of SRHR. Most KP-focused interventions around the world, including Bangladesh, primarily address HIV and STI-related concerns keeping other SRHR issues overlooked. Thus, there remains a paucity of SRHR-related information among KPs to find out gaps and strengthen/design SRHR services. We established a SRHR surveillance system among KPs where regular (once a year) cross-sectional surveys are being adopted which act as an early warning system for identifying research priorities and interventions. This is providing data on selective SRHR indicators of key population for describing changes over time. We are estimating prevalence of major biomedical SRHR indicators and assessing the impact of COVID-19 on the uptake of SRHR services by the KPs.