Member Associations

The Association Béninoise pour la Promotion de la Famille (ABPF) has been operating for almost 40 years. ABPF offers family planning, ante-natal and post-abortion care, infertility treatment, screening of cancers of the reproductive system, and management of sexually transmitted infections (including HIV and AIDS). Its service points include permanent and mobile clinics. ABPF is focused on reaching marginalized groups such as prisoners, sex workers, refugees and internally displaced persons. The majority of clients are estimated to be poor, marginalized, socially excluded and/or under-served. To reduce the national maternal mortality rate, ABPF operates an effective community-based obstetric and antenatal care service in 16 villages, using traditional birth attendants and volunteer health workers. ABPF also runs a locally-based service for young people which involves hundreds of community-based distributors (CBDs) and peer educators providing young people with sexual and reproductive health information, condoms and counselling services. In acknowledgment of ABPF’s expertise and accomplishments, the Government of Benin invited the organization to become a member of the technical committee (in the Ministry of Planning) that drafts reproductive health policies: the Population Policy, the Family Health Policy, HIV and AIDS policies and the National Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy. Whilst ABPF has recorded major advances in sexual and reproductive health, there are still very significant challenges as the figures for lifetime risk of maternal death, child mortality rate and unmet need for contraception of illustrate. Driving the work of ABPF is a large and dedicated team of hundreds of volunteers. There’s a Youth Action Movement which draws on the skills of young people. ABPF works in partnership with a range of government organisations, including parliament, the Ministère de la Famille, the Ministère de la Jeunesse, and the Ministère du Plan. Funders include USAID. Non-goverrnmental organizations working with ABPF include the Country Co-ordinating Mechanism for health and sexual and reproductive health.   

Pro familia advocates for the rights to individual self-determination in sexuality and family planning and is committed nationally and internationally to sexual and reproductive health and rights. For pro familia, sexual and reproductive rights and health rank among human rights. pro familia is the leading professional association on sexuality and partnership in Germany. With information and counselling services, pro familia wants to contribute to women, men and young people being able to live their sexuality and sexual orientation in a self-determined way, to parenthood being a free decision and to a satisfying sexual life without fear of unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, and to people being able to participate in scientific progress. The services offered in the 180 counselling centres nationwide include counselling, information and age-appropriate sex education on partnership, sexuality, sexual orientation, contraception, pregnancy, family, unfulfilled desire to have children and reproductive medicine, prenatal diagnostics, birth, financial support, unwanted pregnancy as well as separation and divorce. Pro familia publishes information brochures for clients and specialist publications for doctors, counsellors and educators, organises specialist conferences, lobbies for sexual and reproductive health and rights and offers a wide range of further and advanced training. In the field of sexual education, it is committed to human rights education.