Recent work

Here are some examples of consultancy assignments that Sarah has carried out.

Communicating IPPF's achievements in addressing abortion stigma

Sarah was delighted to write a report on IPPF’s global achievements in reducing the stigma surrounding abortion. Published in January 2021, it outlines the pioneering work IPPF is doing in this field and captures their learning.

Around the world, abortion is commonplace: about three out of ten pregnancies end in abortion. And yet, abortion has a long history of being marginalised and shrouded in secrecy and shame. Stigma is directed at people who seek, provide or support abortion. Even when safely and legally available in a country, abortion can be socially prohibited and discouraged. Stigma can lead people to prioritise secrecy over safety. Fear of being recognised by family and friends when visiting a clinic for an abortion and fear of being judged by providers prompt many young women to avoid trained health professionals in formal medical settings.

Together, let’s bust the stigma surrounding abortion so that women and girls can exercise their sexual and reproductive rights.

Providing communications support to the READY movement

Since 2017, Sarah has worked with Frontline AIDS on a range of projects within the READY movement, which builds resilient and empowered adolescents and young people living with and affected by HIV. She supports writing and editing outputs aimed at sharing knowledge and communicating learning to partners, youth networks, donors and supporters. Her role includes:

Helping to develop eight succinct READY newsletters. Sarah has contributed ideas for the content, written, edited and translated articles, and had an input to design.
Reviewing and editing two guides on COVID-19 and gender, one for adolescents and young people and one for adults/caregivers (2020).
Writing a comprehensive report on the mid-term review of the READY+ programme. The report assessed progress, identified gaps, outlined challenges and made targeted recommendations for the future (2019).
Communicating research findings in a clear, accessible way. This includes editing and shaping two research summaries: What works? Preventing gender-based violence among young people living with and affected by HIV (May 2019) and What works? Supporting mental health of young people living with or affected by HIV (March 2020).
Writing a series of engaging IEC materials for young people on five topics, including child marriage, condom use and deciding when to have sex (2018). The leaflets support young people to make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health and rights. And in 2020, Sarah was asked to develop two additional IEC leaflets on contraception and gender-based violence.

Supporting the Global Advisory Board for Sexual Health and Wellbeing

Since 2018, Sarah has collaborated with the Global Advisory Board (GAB) for Sexual Health and Wellbeing on an innovative project to highlight the missing link in sexual and reproductive health and rights: sexual pleasure. This initiative seeks to reframe the way that we look at SRHR – particularly the links between sexual health, sexual rights and sexual pleasure – by putting sexual pleasure at the centre. The GAB defines sexual pleasure and outlines the benefits for individuals and communities of talking about sexual pleasure, in the context of sexual health and sexual rights.

The GAB has produced a toolkit to develop health professionals’ skills in providing quality sexual and reproductive health services, information and counselling, using its triangle approach. Sarah’s role was to edit and strengthen the toolkit. In 2019-2020, Sarah edited a series of e-learning modules that accompany the toolkit, used to train healthcare providers around the world. See the blog.

In 2020, Sarah was asked to review a new guide, Sexual pleasure: an assessment tool. This practical tool is aimed at helping sexual and reproductive health programme managers to check whether sexual pleasure and sexual rights have been incorporated in their work.

Working with Pamoja to enhance learning and research uptake

Sarah has worked with Pamoja Communications on a number of projects. Over the years, she has condensed lengthy journal articles into around 20 accessible briefs. Many capture learning from studies conducted by research consortia on health workers, particularly community health workers, and health in post-conflict settings. One area focused on if – and how – gender is integrated into health sector reform as societies rebuild after war.

Sarah has also collaborated with Pamoja on the following websites:

In 2021, she wrote copy for the Learning, Acting and Building for Rehabilitation in Health Systems (ReLAB-HS) website. ReLAB-HS aims to transform how marginalised people in low- and middle-income countries access rehabilitation services.
In 2020, Sarah wrote key sections of the Women in Global Health website. Women in Global Health aims to change the narrative about women health leaders and increase their visibility.
In 2019, Sarah wrote copy for a website about the ARISE research consortium, which supports people in informal urban settlements in low- and middle-income countries. Sarah also wrote a short, engaging leaflet about the project.
In 2015, she wrote copy for the website, Building Back Better, conceived by Pamoja, which showcases research and briefings about gender and health system reform.

Providing communications support to E4A-MamaYe

In 2018, Sarah provided support and advice to the EA4-MamaYe programme to strengthen its communications strategy and direction. This entailed carrying out an audit of a range of E4A-MamaYe communications and advocacy products, and facilitating a short, interactive workshop with team members in May 2018. Sarah made strategic key recommendations, which she captured in an accessible report.

Since then, Sarah has provided further support, including developing sections of the website. She also reviewed E4A-MamaYe’s publications and evidence products, analysing what has worked well and what could be improved, and provided specific feedback.

VSO's youth volunteering programme: ICS

VSO’s International Citizen Service (ICS) programme brings together young people from the UK and low-income countries to volunteer in some of the poorest communities in Africa and Asia. In 2018, Sarah helped communicate research findings into an important and yet neglected subject: young people and mental health, specifically the relationship between youth volunteering overseas and mental health.

More and more young people in the UK experience mental health problems. But little is known about the effect of volunteering on mental health, and how mental health issues can shape the placement. Research by Lancaster University shed light on these questions and looked at how ICS could support all its volunteers and staff. Sarah’s role was to condense a lengthy report into an engaging overview document that reflected the voices and experiences of young people in all their diversity.

Sarah has also supported VSO on a number of other initiatives. This includes writing a succinct position paper on youth aimed at a donor audience; editing the ICS annual report (2016-2017) as well as reviewing and strengthening a series of ICS case studies demonstrating project impact.

Sharing learning from IPPF's Choices and Opportunities programme

IPPF's groundbreaking Choices and Opportunities programme (known as Choices) promoted young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights and scaled up good practices in youth-friendly service provision and comprehensive sexuality education.

In 2016, Sarah was commissioned by IPPF to edit and shorten a lengthy donor report on the Choices programme.

A second assignment was to write a concise summary showcasing the main achievements and lessons learnt over the life of the Choices programme. This summary was uploaded to IPPF's website in 2017.

Providing communications support to Link Up

In 2016, Sarah worked with the International HIV/AIDS Alliance (as Frontline AIDS was then called) over a seven-month period, providing communications support to the Link Up programme.

Link Up (2013-2016) empowered 940,000 young people in Bangladesh, Burundi, Ethiopia, Myanmar and Uganda to exercise their SRHR. Link Up helped integrate HIV and SRHR, and focused on young key populations most affected by HIV.

Sarah's role was to edit and strengthen more than a dozen Link Up case studies communicating Link Up's key achievements and learning. She also provided expert input on SRHR, and drafted a series of accessible summaries based on the case studies.

Strengthening capability statements for IPPF

In 2016, Sarah worked with IPPF on the production of a series of six concise capability statements on service delivery; women, girls and gender; humanitarian action; young people; advocacy and accountability; and social enterprise.

Primarily aimed at donors and IPPF partners, the statements summarise the key issues as well as IPPF’s expertise and extensive experience in just two pages.

Sarah’s role was to review, strengthen and shorten the statements, edit for IPPF style and ensure consistency across the set. The capability statements have been extremely well received.

Manifesto for Motherhood parliamentary briefings

Women and Children First (UK) commissioned Sarah to write the Briefing Pack: achieving reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health: from commitment to action on behalf of the Manifesto for Motherhood coalition of NGOs, professional associations and civil society networks. The Briefing Pack, which comprises ten concise inserts, was written for MPs at the request of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health. Distributed to UK MPs in 2012, the Briefing Pack is a seminal advocacy tool aimed at informing parliamentarians of key reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health issues.

In 2014, on behalf of the Manifesto for Motherhood coalition, Sarah was asked to draft a brief to highlight the importance of investing in women and girls, upholding rights and promoting sexual and reproductive health in the post-2015 development framework. With financial support from Save the Children UK, Sarah wrote a succinct brief, which was endorsed by four large UK development networks. The brief was distributed to MPs and parliamentary candidates in advance of the 2015 general election.

Integrating human rights into national HIV strategic plans

To strengthen the rights-based national response to HIV, UNAIDS, with the technical support of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, initiated a project to help national stakeholders integrate human rights programmes into National Strategic Plans (NSPs) for HIV.

In 2012, the Alliance asked Sarah to carry out an evaluation of the integration of human rights programmes into NSPs. This entailed analysing responses to a survey, interviewing workshop participants in English and French and writing up the findings in an accessible report.

Lessons learnt, short-term outcomes and case studies of effective human rights programming were summarised in a comprehensive report, Making it Work – a joint International HIV/AIDS Alliance/UNAIDS publication.

Providing advocacy technical assistance to WHO

This consultancy assignment consisted of technical assistance in advocacy to the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the landmark consultation in Glion on strengthening the links between family planning and the prevention of HIV in women and children. Sarah had an input to the draft Glion Call to Action that resulted from the WHO/UNFPA consultation. The concise Call to Action makes a series of recommendations in the areas of policy and advocacy, programme development, resource mobilisation, monitoring and evaluation and research. After the consultation, Sarah formulated a comprehensive advocacy plan for implementation by a range of stakeholders, including governments, MPs, UN agencies, donors and civil society.

A second assignment was to write a clear, accessible briefing, available on WHO's website, summarising the outcomes of the Glion consultation.

Working with the Alliance to formulate an effective advocacy strategy

The strategy encompassed the I ntern ational HIV/AIDS Allian ce's engagement with the UK Government in terms of policy and fundraising. Sarah mapped out current relationships, assessed capacity, identified key players (primarily key officials and parliamentarians) and analysed opportunities where the Alliance could have the most impact.

Sarah carried out research and interviewed a number of internal and external stakeholders to elicit views about the best way forward. She consolidated stakeholders’ input and put forward proposals into a comprehensive, flexible and strategic approach for the Alliance.