Member Associations

Guinea-Bissau is one tenth the size of its neighbour Guinea-Conakry, but its people suffer equally distressing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) problems. The Associação Guineense para o Bem Estar Familiar was established in 1993 to address the major issue in family planning: equipping couples to make active, informed choices about the number of children they would have, and when they would have them.   Since then, the Member Association’s work has expanded to embrace a full range of SRH concerns. It provides young people with information, education and communication (IEC) and behaviour change communication (BCC) around sexual and reproductive health; it works on the prevention, diagnosis and management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) includind HIV; it provides post-abortion care and support; it provides care for victims of gender-based violence (GBV); and it advocates strongly at government level for legislation to prevent GBV. Associação Guineense para o Bem Estar Familiar achieved these results through a small but committed team that operate over hundred service points, including static clinics and community-based service points. Despite the relatively small size of the organization, it is growing rapidly with strong central support from IPPF, influential government partnerships, and backing from non-governmental organizations including UNFPA.

As Vanuatu's pioneering sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) organisation, VFHA is a trusted provider of SRHR services and commodities to the nation of 271,000. It works closely with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to provide service delivery from its two main clinics, advocating to political and religious leaders and conducting educational campaigns targeting youth and the broader community. Fifty-eight per cent of the population is below 24-years-old so the needs for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services are significant. Vanuatu has a high static fertility and high teenage fertility rates, rising rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and low rates of contraceptive prevalence. About 76 per cent of the population lives in rural areas, making it difficult and expensive to provide quality reproductive health (RH) The association was also the leading NGO on the provision of SRHR services during the Post Cyclone Winston Response that has devastated the lives of the people of Vanuatu. Lives were touched during the response as they were able to go to the rural and remote areas on the provision of services.