Pathfinder International Practicum Opportunity
PATHFINDER INTERNATIONAL- PRACTICUM OPPORTUNITY
Location: Watertown, MA
Duration: Spring, 2016
Hours: 10-15 hours a week
Student qualifications:
History or background in sexual and reproductive health
Interest in women’s rights and social justice
Strong research and analytical skills
Project title: Abortion in India, the disconnect between policy and practice
Project description
Abortion in India is legally unrestricted, however women are too often unable to access safe, rights-based, comprehensive abortion services; so unsafe abortion and related deaths and morbidity are still high especially among the poor and young. Some contributing factors include sub-standard services in the public sector in particular (both clinical quality and quality as perceived by the women), but also the private sector, that is somehow related to stigma around abortion, lack of clarity around the law and abortion rights, and absence of political will.
Some steps have been taken by government, including, to an extent, bringing services down to the PHC level and expanding medical abortion in some places. But the continuing problems in services provided to women, as well as the unknown and untold number of women who never reach a facility or show up in a data bank need, to be addressed. The project will build on the 2014 literature review conducted by the Guttmacher Institute which began to explain the barriers and start to point to solutions. The task is to conduct a situational analysis of the state of abortion in India as a whole, and then focus on one state, most likely in the North, to assess the barriers and opportunities for significantly changing this situation for women as a model for other states. The inquiry will look at policy, service delivery and community barriers to access and quality. The intern will work with the Pathfinder Country Team in India and the Senior Advisor for Women’s Health and Rights at Pathfinder International in Watertown, and. Regarding policy, the intern can use the Pathfinder Straight to the Point Tool “Abortion Policy Scan for advocacy” and walk through the advocacy process, gain country level policy expertise on abortion, as well as have the opportunity to work with abortion advocates and practitioners to reduce high maternal mortality and morbidity from unsafe abortion in India.
In addition to abortion, and continuing the focus on neglected areas of women’s health and rights, the Pathfinder India Country team is looking for opportunities to address cervical cancer prevention in India. A parallel inquiry is needed to gain better understanding of the extent of the disease, the lack of programs and services, and how and where Pathfinder could intervene most effectively.
For both, we would be looking for strategies to address information needs and behavior change, like mHealth, to build demand for services as well as to make sure improved, quality services were available to women, especially the poor and young.
Unfortunately, opportunity is without financial compensation. Interested students can apply by sending a cover letter and their résumé or CV to:
Ellen Israel, Senior Advisor for Women’s Health and Rights, via:
eisrael@pathfinder.org with a cc to:
Justin Maly, MPH, Technical Advisor, mHealth, via:
Email: jmaly@pathfinder.org
