The SPRINT Initiative provides one of the most important aspects of humanitarian assistance that is often forgotten when disaster and conflicts strike: access to essential life-saving sexual and reproductive health services. We build capacity of humanitarian workers to deliver essential life-saving sexual and reproductive health services in crisis and post-crisis situations through the delivery of the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for reproductive health in emergencies.   Through funding from the Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), our SPRINT Initiative has brought sexual and reproductive health to the humanitarian agenda, increased capacity and responded to a number of humanitarian emergencies. Australia has funded the SPRINT initiative since 2007. Since then, the SPRINT initiative has responded to 105 humanitarian crises and worked with partners in 99 countries. SPRINT has reached over 1,138,175 people, delivering 2,133,141 crucial SRH services, and continues to respond to ongoing emergencies. In each priority country, we work with an IPPF Member Association to coordinate and implement life-saving sexual and reproductive activities. Through these partnerships, SPRINT helps strengthen the enabling environment, improve national capacity and provide lifesaving services during times of crisis. You can read more about IPPF Humanitarian’s Programme here. Australia's location in the Indo-Pacific provides DFAT with a unique perspective on humanitarian action. Australia is committed to helping partner governments manage crisis response themselves. This is done through building the capacity of the national government and civil society to be able to respond to disaster. DFAT also works with experienced international partners to prepare for and respond to disasters, including other donors, United Nations agencies, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and non-government organisations.          

With a tiny population of just under 200,000 people, data shows that people in the Polynesian Island nation of Samoa on average enjoy a higher quality of life than other countries in the Pacific. And in July 2021, Samoa elected its first female Prime Minister, Fiama Naomi Mata’afa, which generated hope and excitement for more progress for women and girls. But the Prime Minister has her work cut out for her; during the country’s Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations Human Rights council in November, the need to address gender-based violence was a recurring issue.   "There is a significant problem with violence towards several different vulnerable groups in Samoa, particularly people of sexual and gender minorities, people with disabilities, women and girls, and children," said Thalia Kehoe Rowden, a representative of the Initiative.   Alarming rates of SGBV   Like nearly every other country around the world, the Pacific Islands are prone to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) – a critical human rights issue that pervades many aspects of society. Global estimates published this year by the World Health Organization indicate that about 1 in 3 (or roughly 736 million) women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime – an alarming figure that remains unchanged for the past decade. According to a 2018 National Public Inquiry into Family Violence almost nine in 10 Samoan women have experienced physical or emotional violence from family members, six out of 10 have experienced intimate partner violence and one in five women have been raped.  “In Samoa, SGBV is a great concern. It is an issue that requires immediate action at the national level,” said Lealaiauloto Liai Iosefa-Siitia, the Executive Director of the Samoa Family Health Association (SFHA). “Samoa needs a holistic approach to reduce the risks of SGBV. All partners should come together and establish a better coordinated and effective way of addressing the issue.”  An IPPF Member Association, SFHA provides reproductive health and family planning services through a permanent clinic in the capital city of Apia, and a mobile unit which visits rural areas and the outer islands to provide educational and contraceptive services.  A data deficit  But according to Iosefa-Siita, the greatest challenge in tackling SGBV in Samoa is a lack of data.  “Data on SGBV is not properly coordinated and disaggregated,” she said. “These challenges may be due to questions of who is responsible for what type of data, who is the national agency responsible, who are the service providers and many more.”  Since 1995, there have been four major studies into the prevalence of SGBV in Samoa. But the length of time between each of these studies makes it difficult to identify trends in reporting violence or the potential impact of new interventions and services.   However, steps are being taken at a policy level. The Government of Samoa recently launched inclusive governance, family safety and gender equality policies and the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development has developed an Interagency Essential Services Guide that helps guide service providers on the elimination of GBV.  SFHA is also developing a Standard of Procedures which incorporates a referral pathway for victims of SGBV at a national level.   “We continue to advocate for sexual and reproductive health rights as one instrumental aspect for the prevention of SGBV at the national level through contribution to national guidelines such as the Interagency Essential Services Guide, the Family Safety Bill by the National Human Rights Institute, the National Policy on Disaster Risk Management and others,” said Iosefa-Siita.