The purpose of the toolkit is to bring together existing learning and guidance as a starting point for stakeholders to begin SRH preparedness work. Within the SRH sector the field of preparedness is relatively new and growing. More collective effort is required to further evaluate the impact of preparedness efforts and push the field forward. This effort is a first attempt at synthesizing draft guidance for SRH preparedness, and is intended for field testing. The toolkit recognizes the longstanding work of the field of emergency and disaster risk management, and endeavors to bridge that work with the human rights-oriented and peoplecentered field of sexual and reproductive health.

In the publication, “Maintaining essential health services: operational guidance for the COVID-19 context” the WHO outlines strategies governments should take to ensure populations retain access to essential health services, including sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care, during and beyond the current COVID-19 pandemic. This document, developed with the input of international nongovernmental organizations and local civil society actors to support the implementation of the WHO guidance at the country level, recommends concrete policy, programmatic and budgetary decisions to optimize and implement the WHO guidance and other relevant SRH guidelines at the national and subnational levels. As a living document, the recommendations provide a snapshot of the current context. This document is designed to be updated with new evidence and advocacy recommendations by governments, technical experts, civil society and advocates worldwide with the COVID-19 response and through recovery.