Member Associations

The Association Congolaise pour le Bien-Etre Familial (ACBEF) opened its doors for the first time in 1987. Then it was a small operation dedicated to attending to the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs of the urban poor. 25 years later, ACBEF reaches out to the whole country through a network of over 100 community-based distributors (CBDs) backed by static clinics and permanent staff. In addition, ACBEF relies on over 1,000 volunteers, including fully-trained peer educators and a Youth Action Movement.  ACBEF provides a comprehensive range of services covering integrated family planning, voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), prevention and management of HIV and AIDS, post-abortion care, antenatal and post-natal care, youth-friendly education and information projects, contraceptive and laboratory services. Stigma and taboos around HIV and AIDS are strong in Congo, and ACBEF is engaged in major re-education and sensitization on this front. ACBEF aims its work at a wide public, with particular emphasis on young people (aged 25 and under), internally displaced people, sex workers and women of child-bearing age. Work occurs in both rural and urban areas. With high visibility in the national media, ABCEF is making major inroads in SRH in a very difficult environment. ABCEF works in close partnership with the government’s ministries of Health, Foreign Affairs, and Gender, and with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including Jeunesse Action Sida. ABCEF receives financial support from the European Union, UNFPA and the Congolese Government.  

The Soul City Institute for Social Justice (SCI) is an intersectional feminist non-governmental organization that is internationally and locally recognized for its innovation and expertise over two decades in Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC).  The SCI’s primary focus is to work with young women and girls (ages 10 – 35 years) to develop and grow as feminist activists and leaders committed to strengthening movements and advancing the broader agenda for the rights and wellbeing of young women.  The institute also works with men and boys as a secondary focus to promote gender equality and the development of feminist allies. The Institute’s vision is to ensure that young women and girls fully realize their human rights in a just society and can live with dignity and self-determination and have the health and well-being to grow, flourish and reach their full potential. It supports and amplifies young women’s feminist consciousness, voice, agency, and activism to dismantle patriarchy, protect their rights and enable their self-determination. The SCI’s programmes operate at multiple levels to influence individuals, communities, and the socio-economic and political environment. It harness popular culture for social change with prime-time dramas and talk shows on television and radio, combined with social media and print, social mobilization, and policy advocacy.  The SCI approach is unique in that it combines multiple-level strategies at scale. Over the years we have reached over 80% of South Africa through our various programmes and our brand – Soul City - is loved and trusted, with two generations of South Africans having grown up with us. At least three communities the country have so identified themselves with our programmes that they have named themselves Soul City. SoulCity count total clinics Nationally. They provide SRH services (teenage pregnancy screening, contraceptives, PrEP & PEP, CTOP, condom distribution, Cheka Impilo (BP, BMI, diabetes), HTS, TB screening. Follow The Soul City Institute for Social Justice (SCI) on Twitter, Facebook and You Tube. See the RHNK website here.