About Us

"We will aim to improve the evidence base on the high levels of sexual and reproductive health morbidity and mortality, and investigate the extent and nature of unmet needs"

Through our experience of analysing sexual and reproductive health data, working on rights issues and delivering services to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights, we have identified a range of high burden but neglected and emerging priorities on which to focus.

Our priorities areas are: unsafe abortion-related morbidity and mortality, Sexually-Transmitted Infections (STIs) and other Reproductive Tract Infections (RTIs), reproductive cancers, menstrual problems, sexual/gender violence, and other stigmatising aspects of reproductive health (e.g. infertility, fistula).

In examining these priority areas, we will also take into account their links to HIV/AIDS, maternal health and mental health.

Our main Measuring and Mapping research questions include:

• How can the measurement of disease burden be expanded to include neglected sexual and reproductive health problems?
• How can more cost-effective ways of measuring the sexual and reproductive health profile of poor and vulnerable populations be developed using existing data from sentinel sites and sources such as census and Demographic and Health Surveys, including building profiles by different measures of vulnerability status?
• How can different aspects of vulnerability, such as intimate partner violence, be mapped from different data sources to assess their relationship with different sexual and reproductive health problems?
• Use links to policymakers and advocates to influence the implementation of rights-based approaches to sexual and reproductive health.

Realising Rights is a Research Programme Consortium supported by the UK Department for International Development