The Drum Beat 83 - EC/UNFPA Initiative for Reproductive Health in Asia (RHI)

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Drum Role #6



WWF's Director General, Claude Martin reflects on his experience at the Davos World Economic Forum in 'Sustainable developments of Davos' - '...Action must be taken now to prevent next year's Earth Summit from falling victim to...'

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COMPLEMENTING GOVERNMENTAL PROGRAMMES - The EC/UNFPA Initiative for Reproductive Health in Asia (RHI)



1. Origin - Inspired by the Cairo Population Conference, the European Commission and UNFPA signed in Jan. 1997 a Financing Agreement to make available 25 million EURO for the implementation by UNFPA of this 4-yr Initiative. Beneficiaries of RHI in Asia are vulnerable populations in: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam. For each country a specific focus was selected to accommodate the most urgent needs:

• adolescent RH (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Sri Lanka & Viet Nam)
• community participation in RH (Nepal & Pakistan)
• improved quality of RH care (Bangladesh)

The programme is executed by European NGOs in partnership with local NGOs. Annual Report 2000



2. Scope - 20 European NGOs and 66 national organisations and institutions carry out 42 projects in the 7 countries. The umbrella projects in each country aim to enhance inter-project collaboration and to ensure a maximum of complementarity with programmes of the respective governments and other donors. 3 Regional Dimension Projects enhance synergy effects between countries. These are: The Information & Communication Network (ComNet), The Regional Monitoring & Evaluation Project (M&E), and The Gender Equity & Reproductive Health & Rights Project.



3. The Information & Communication Network (ComNet) - co-ordinated by the German Foundation for World Population, has 2 major aims: 1) to guarantee the continuous communication and exchange of information between all partners of the RHI, promoting and supporting South/South and South/North collaboration; 2) to present the RHI to a broader public, decision-makers and opinion formers and ultimately give the RHI a corporate identity. ComNet has created the web site, fact sheets, newsletters, press mailings, mailing lists, regular regional meetings for the country co-ordinators, and a Press Tour for international journalists.



PROGRAMME EXAMPLES



4. QUALITY REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE & ADVOCACY IN BANGLADESH



Implemented by Family Planning Association of Bangladesh with technical assistance from IPPF (International Planned Parenthood Federation), this projects purpose is to increase access to quality RH care within 10 under-served district towns. Each location operates a static clinic and satellite clinics through a Medical Officer and 2 Paramedics with some support staff. During 2000, 1,700 satellite sessions were conducted. Total beneficiaries were around 36,000, which include mothers and children. During the reporting period, 1,800 health education sessions have been conducted with around 64,000 participants. These activities are combined with advocacy activities on RH and community-based awareness and motivational programmes for women, men and adolescents. Information is disseminated through organised youth and adolescents serving as peer educators, by influencing school education programmes, and via community meetings.



5. ACTIVE PARTICIPATION OF PEERS IN CAMBODIA



Reproductive Health Association of Cambodia (RHAC), and IPPF, the European partner, target youth 12-25 yrs in Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, Battambang, and Kompong Cham. The project aims to deliver RH IEC material as well as cost effective RH services to young people and to encourage the use of these services, at the same time promoting the active participation of young people in the implementation of RH education activities. RHAC has recruited and trained a network of 350 volunteer peer educators who share information with their peers on sexual and reproductive health. The peer educators go out to schools or communities and organise education sessions. The project provides RH services in special clinic facilities. Each clinic has a youth library where young people can come for information, to meet friends and to take part in weekly sessions run by the peer educators, which include karaoke and games. RHAC regularly stages quiz shows, hosted by peer educators. These shows actively involve the audience - of approx. 2000 young people - posing questions on RH matters.



6. YOUTH HEALTH & ACTIVITY CENTRE IN LAO PDR



Vientiane Municipality Lao Women's Union, in collaboration with the Save the Children Fund UK is setting up a Health & Activity Drop-in-Centre. Located in central Vientiane, the Centre will provide confidential reproductive health information, including information about sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, and support to youth 12-25 yrs. There is currently limited access to RH information for young people and no access to services for unmarried people in Lao PDR. Through outreach work, the youth centre staff will develop activities targeting vulnerable youth, as well as mainstream adolescents. The centre is to be equipped with a full range of educational, recreational, social and sporting facilities in order to offer a venue that counters the lack of age appropriate activities in Vientiane. The drop-in centre is scheduled to open at the beginning of 2001.



7. PARTICIPATORY APPROACH IN NEPAL



Family Planning Association developed this project with WPF (World Population Foundation), IPPF and European NGOs. Experience has shown that increasing knowledge and awareness of sexual and RH issues among adolescents contributes to behavioural changes. This project works with young people 13-25 yrs in 8 rural districts in mid-western and central regions. The target group is youth characterised by a low contraceptive prevalence rate and a low education level. Activities include: conducting a situational analysis; organising awareness creation activities through seminars, advocacy activities and media; introducing sexual health education in schools and the informal sector by training teachers; creating educational materials and a peer education programme; creating a curriculum for service providers; training of service providers and extending counselling services. Youth are involved in the development of action plans to improve sexual and RH. A community support system for youth is being established.



8. IMPROVING GENDER RELATIONS IN PAKISTAN



The goal of this Family Planning Association of Pakistan and WPF project is to ensure the improved availability and accessibility of RH information and services in under-served areas and marginalised groups. By integrating RH promotion and services into the interventions of almost 100 existing Community Based Organisations (CBOs) in 5 regions, the project disseminates RH information and promotes activities and services aimed at changing RH behaviour in the respective communities. The project strives to empower women, strengthen families, answer the existing unmet need for RH/Family Planning and assist in meeting the overall objective of integrated development activities. As Pakistan's society is male dominated, efforts are made to enlist male support, to promote male participation and thereby to improve gender relations.



9. CREATING A CONDUCIVE ENVIRONMENT IN SRI LANKA



Implemented by 5 national NGOs/CBOs and IPPF in 156 sub-divisions in 13 districts, this project's targets are: young women workers in the industrial investment promotional zones; internally displaced people; adolescents and youths in conflict areas; children who are susceptible to child prostitution; in- and out-of-school youths; and, youth in the plantation sector. So far more than 600 peer educators/volunteers have imparted education, or facilitated receiving education, to over 50,000 youth in the predominantly rural areas they serve. Numerous activities are being undertaken to create a community-supported propitious environment to eradicate stigmas associated with unmarried youth seeking sexual and RH services, and also to improve the availability and accessibility of these services.



10. CULTURAL SENSITIVITIES IN VIET NAM



In May 2000, Marie Stopes International and the Youth Union opened an adolescent RH service clinic in Hanoi, to reach urban youth. This is a place where young people can come for information/counselling as well as for personalised adolescent sexual and RH services. Due to cultural sensitivities these issues are addressed in a more indirect way (e.g. incorporating sexual and RH issues into youth involved activities such as sports and cultural events.) Peer educators are also members of the community. In addition, cultural events such as free movie shows, television-spots, competitions, etc. are used to promote the clinic and to attract young people to its activities.

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Material for this issue provided by Caroline Jane Kent, RHI - caroline.kent@dsw-hannover.de

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Please send material for The Drum Beat to the Editor - Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com