Do No Harm Assessment Improves Community Engagement in Pakistan

For the startup of the    Family Planning and  Post Abortion Care (FP-PAC) project,  IRC Pakistan planned for and conducted a  Do   No   Harm (DNH) assessment to analyze and address potential negative effects of the project. With the help of DNH, the Reproductive Health (RH) team was able to avoid worsening tension in the community between groups and increase men’s participation in and support for the project. This has helped strengthen trust and reduce the gender gap in decision-making related to health services. The information gathered also was helpful to revisit and update previously completed risk matrix, stakeholder, and social network analyses.   In addition,  since the technical approach was moving from post-abortion care to comprehensive abortion care; it was very important to have the communities informed about and supportive of the new activities.