The 2010 Inter-agency Field Manual on Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings is an update of the 1999 Reproductive Health in Refugee Situations: An Inter-agency Field Manual, the authoritative guidance on reproductive health interventions in humanitarian settings. The 2010 version provides guidance on how to implement the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for Reproductive Health, a minimum standard of care in humanitarian response. It also splits the original chapter on HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) into two separate chapters to accommodate new guidance on HIV programming. A new chapter on Comprehensive Abortion Care has been developed to cover more than post-abortion care. The chapters on Program Design, Monitoring and Evaluation and Adolescent Reproductive Health have been placed earlier in the manual to address the cross-cutting nature of these topics.
Information on human rights and legal considerations has been integrated into each of the thematic chapters to ensure that program staff can address rights-related concerns. The updated information is based on normative technical guidance of the World Health Organization. It also reflects the good practices documented in crisis settings around the world since the initial field-test version was released in 1996. The latest edition reflects the wide application of the Field Manual’s principles and technical content beyond refugee situations, extending its use into diverse crises, including conflict zones and natural disasters.
