Member Associations

The Estonian Sexual Health Association (ESHA, formerly the Estonian Family Planning Association) is a non-governmental organization, which was founded in 1994. The goal of the ESHA is to improve and promote sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of the people living in Estonia. Since 1995 the ESHA is a member of International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and adheres to its policies. ESHA promotes sexual and reproductive health and rights as defined on UN Cairo Conference of Population and Development (1994) and is committed among other aims to obtain equal rights for women, and to their empowerment. Main focus of activities is on youth SRHR education and sexual health counselling including HIV/AIDS prevention, but also a number of targeted programs have been carried out (addressing e.g. disabled people or victims of sexual violence). Information and educational materials to different target groups have been created and published as well as training courses in different issues have been carried out. Several media campaigns have been organised all over Estonia to target particular topic like intimate partner violence as an example. A network of youth counselling centres has been established all over Estonia which operates free of charge for young people up to 26 years of age under ESHA coordination. In 2003 ESHA opened Sexual Health Clinic to provide integrated sexual health services besides young people for adult target group as well. In addition, free SRHR Internet counselling for young people is provided through ESHA home page www.seksuaaltervis.ee. ESHA aims to continuously support school sexuality education especially in talking about ”difficult” topics, such as living together with people having HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive rights, sexual diversity, sexual orientation, sexuality in media, pornography, gender and sex, communication skills etc. ESHA has been providing such sex educational training for young people and also for parents and specialists working with youth in Estonia and also in other countries (Kyrgyzstan, Moldova).  

Society for Health Education (SHE) is an organization that is proactive in identifying and addressing the crucial health and social concerns of the Maldives. SHE was founded in 1988 by four women with the mission to enhance the quality of life of Maldivian families. The organization embraces the following mandate: Strive to improve the quality of life of the Maldivian people Harness the expertise of national professionals, on a voluntary basis for development programmes Endeavour to raise awareness of health and social issues Today, SHE is one of the largest, most vibrant NGOs in the Maldives which addresses issues concerning Thalassemia, Counselling and Psychosocial Support, Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and Health Education. The organization reaffirms its commitment to sustain these initiatives, and to further increasing public awareness on issues that influence family well-being. Effectiveness of health promotion initiatives are ensured by adopting applicable service delivery mechanisms, fostering improvements in reproductive health parameters, continuing Thalassemia prevention activities, promoting responsible parenthood concepts, facilitating empowerment of women and youth, supporting victims of abuse by providing gender based violence screening services, essential SRH services and psychosocial support and referral services, as well as extending Counselling to adolescents and families, and encouraging community ownership of development. SHE operates an in-house clinic offering a range of services under one roof in the Maldives capital, Male’. The in-house clinic provides three main services; SRH services, counselling and psychosocial services, and thalassemia and diagnostic services. The SRH clinic of SHE has a long-standing reputation for client friendly and quality service provision on SRH and various other general health issues. The clinic conducts mobile outreach activities including awareness programmes targets for Key Affected Populations. Under the HIV and AIDS programme of the clinic, free Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) services are offered to the general public. The Thalassemia prevention programme undertaken by SHE comprises an awareness component along with provision of screening services.The prevention programme aims to reduce the number of thalassemics born in the Maldives by providing testing services to identify thalassemia carrier status and raising awareness of how the disorder is inherited. The first, and only thalassemia DNA testing facility in the Maldives was established at SHE in 2005 to minimize the number of inconclusive results. The Counselling and Psychosocial services comprises face to face counselling, telephone counselling, and play therapy for young children. In addition to day to day regular services, the clinic conducts several skill development programmes targeting young people, vulnerable populations, teachers and parents. Furthermore, the organization adopts an integrated approach to health education and service delivery and its role includes increasing the accessibility of services and using media for education and communication. This includes collaborating with other Civil Society Organizations and State Institutions that work towards relating to issues on health and well-being. The society runs outreach programmes and mobilizes voluntary support to develop projects and to maintain and enhance service provision. With this number of services, SHE reaches over 5000 people of the population of the Maldives yearly. The success of the organization depends on the unreserved commitment of the organization’s members, volunteers, and staff. SHE strives to raise the bar higher at every opportunity, to ensure that the organization could progressively add greater value to clients and stakeholders, thereby uplifting the community’s general wellbeing.