Spreading the news: Japan Trust Fund Media trip

Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU)
Gulu, Uganda

Every year, IPPF invites a number of Japanese journalists to visit an IPPF Japan Trust Fund project. “There are so many stories to hear and see and tell”, says Mr Takao, journalist for Mainichi Shimbun. “I want to give readers [in Japan] an opportunity to understand the realities of people’s lives, to see the human strength and the invaluable mutual support.” In 2008, Mr. Takao was awarded the Voughn Ueda Prize (the Japanese equivalent to the Pulitzer Prize) for his outstanding international reporting.

Young and vibrant: prevention services for rural youth

Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia  (FGAE)
Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia

Young people are key to remaining proactive to the changing demands of the epidemic.

In the rural areas of Ethiopia, young people are trained and employed as service providers in order to make it easier and less intimidating for young people to ask for information, condoms or contraceptives.

“It is great to get information from someone you can approach and trust”, says a young beneficiary. “We learned so much…even how to give pleasure without intercourse, so we can prevent sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.” In total, more than 50,000 young people benefited from this JTF project.

Strength in numbers: prevention of sexually transmitted infections and HIV among female sex workers in conflict prone districts of Western and Far Western Nepal

Family Planning Association of Nepal (FPA Nepal)
Banke, Chitwan, Dang and Kailali, Nepal

Women engaged in sex work are often marginalised, under-served and exposed to violence. The JTF project helped women along the main highway in western Nepal to form their own organization, access HIV and sexual and reproductive health information and services, and stand up for their rights.

One woman explains, “Before, if clients did not pay me after having sex, I used to tolerate it because of being exposed in the society. Now, with the organisation behind me, I can raise my voice”.

This new confidence is also reflected in increased condom negotiation with clients (from 77% to 94%) and health seeking behaviour (from 60% to 93%).

Bridge of hope: HIV prevention for construction worker and communities at the second Mekong International Bridge

The Planned Parenthood Association of Thailand (PPAT) and Lao Women’s Union
Border of Lao PDR and Thailand

IPPF has been working to ensure HIV information and services are integrated into large infrastructure projects. The bridge over the Mekong river is one such project. “We had heard of sexually transmitted infections and HIV through the media”, says one of the workers, “but we never paid attention, and certainly never visited a doctor”.

The construction company recognised HIV as a workplace issue, and allowed information and services to be provided on-site. As a result, HIV awareness increased from 62% to 92%, and more than 25,000 workers and community members visited the mobile clinic.

Daring to dream: sexual and reproductive health of people living with HIV

Cameroon National Association for Family Welfare (CAMNAFAW)
Yaoundé and Douala, Cameroon

Too often, people living with HIV are told not to have sex or children, and are denied their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

“All my children died within a few months”, recounts Marie. “It was only after I got introduced to the project that I realized they could have been born healthy with the right precautions”. Marie then joined the JTF project as a community health worker and counsellor.

She helped to inform some 4,000 other people living with HIV of their sexual and reproductive rights. And the work now continues as part of the organisation’s core strategy. 

Breaking the ice: HIV prevention among young women involved in sex work

Reproductive Health Uganda
Kampala, Uganda

Projects run for and by sex workers are a tremendous force for change. In the slums of Kampala, sex workers share information on HIV and sexual and reproductive health with colleagues and clients. At the same time, mobile clinics offer voluntary counseling and testing and referrals to the community clinic for other services. “I don’t have the means to visit the hospital regularly”, says one of the beneficiaries.

“So it’s great we now have appropriate information and health services nearby”. The JTF project also provides a range of non-health services to meet the demands of the young women.

Moving mountains: improving reproductive health and maternal and child health knowledge and services in Hebron, Tulkarem and Gaza districts

Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association (PFPPA)
Hebron, Tulkarem and Gaza districts, Palestinian territories

Political conflict and instability frequently leads to lack of access to essential sexual and reproductive health services, especially for women and girls. In the Palestinian territories, the JTF project goes out into the communities and provides maternal and child health services at home.

“My husband and I are so happy with the pregnancy”, shares one of the beneficiaries, “But it also an anxious time, so these services have really been a life line for me and my family”. Within its first year, the project reached almost 3,000 women and there are plans to expand it to other districts.

Dropping in to health: expanding access to information and services to key populations

Family Planning Association of India (FPA India)

Nagaland, India

Meeting the sexual and reproductive health needs of people who use drugs, and their sexual partners, is a key HIV prevention and care opportunity. In Kohima, the drop-in centre provides comprehensive health services and runs an active peer driven outreach programme.

“I found their constant visits irritating at first”, laughs one of the beneficiaries. “But their care and support motivated me to visit the drop-in centre. The staff there warmly accepted me as I am, and taught me about HIV, hepatitis, and sexual and reproductive health. In addition to these services, clients can get referrals for oral subsitution therapy, rehabilitation, TB and HIV treatment or nutritional support.

Power to the people: HIV and sexual and reproductive health services for construction worker and communities at the Omon thermal power plant

Vietnam Family Planning Association (VINAFPA)

Omon, Can Tho Province, Vietnam

Around the world, workplaces provide an under-utilized opportunity to address the sexual and reproductive health needs of men. The popularity of the mobile clinic nearby the construction site of a power plant proves this.

“Most men will say they visit the clinic because of back pain or stomach aches”, explains the project doctor. “But when I ask further, it becomes clear they have also come for HIV information or voluntary counseling and testing.” Two-thirds of the construction workers, and more than 250 sex workers from the community, have accessed information, counselling, condoms and services.

Keeping vulnerability on the radar: mainstreaming STI and HIV services for returning refugees in Rwanda

Association Rwandaise pour le Bien-Etre Familial (ARBEF)
Kayonza and Kirehe Districts, Eastern Province, Rwanda

Refugees’ vulnerability to HIV is widely recognised, but once they have returned to their home country, they often fall off the radar. “Our kin were dying, but we knew nothing about HIV”, recalls the leader of the new women’s organisation. “The project taught us so much, not just about HIV, but about family planning, sexual health and women’s rights.”

Two years on, almost 6,000 out of the 14,000 community members accessed voluntary counseling and testing, and 117 people have been linked to ARV treatment programmes. At the same time, reported gender-based violence went down from 60% to 30%.

Beyond the bias: expanding access to information and services to key populations

Family Planning Association of India

Mumbai, India

In India, as in so many places in the world, men who have sex with men and transgenders face incredibly harsh forms of stigma and discrimination. One of the beneficiaries knows this all too well. “My male organs were removed without anesthesia, and hot oil was poured on the wound to control the blood loss.” When the wound became infected, government and private doctors refused to treat her. The JTF doctor did not. All in all, more than 7,000 men who have sex with men and transgenders received health care through the project.