Establishing and maintaining reproductive health programs in countries coping with the effects of war and civil strife: experiences in Albania Cambodia and Eritrea.

This paper delivered by a panel at the 1998 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting describes the experiences of the Family Planning Service Expansion and Technical Support (SEATS) Project in providing technical assistance and implementing reproductive health services in countries devastated by war or undergoing civil unrest including Albania Cambodia and Eritrea. The SEATS Project is funded by the Office of Population of the US Agency for International Development under a performance-based contract with John Snow Inc. a public health management consulting firm. Furthermore it works with both public and private sector agencies to develop and deliver high-quality sustainable family planning and reproductive health services. In this paper the panels presentation describes how SEATS is working to establish basic reproductive health services in the areas of greatest need while simultaneously contending with ongoing effects of civil instability. Country histories including Albania Cambodia and Eritrea and a description of some of the factors facing the project staff are delineated in this paper.