Violence against women and girls is one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world. The costs of violence are extremely high and include direct costs to the country as well as the untold cost inflicted on survivors and their communities for generations to come. Putting an end to this grave issue requires the efforts of ground-level health officials working with survivors who face brutal realities.

Taking this purview, the Ministry of Health launched a resource package on the ‘Health Sector Response to Prevention and Management of Gender-based Violence’, which was supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The package includes a Gender-based Violence Behavioral Change Communication Manual for Healthcare Providers and the Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) and Guidelines. These important tools will assist and guide health sector officials to improve the overall health sector response to survivors of gender-based violence in a coordinated and standardized manner. These life-changing tools were developed in alignment with the Health Sector Module of the Essential Service Package, which is an international guideline-based on best practices for a response for survivors and victims of sexual and gender-based violence.