Member Associations

Located off the eastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, Comoros is an archipelago of 4 islands at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel between northeaster Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar. At a little over 1,800 square kilometres, it’s the third smallest nation in Africa, but has over 700,000 inhabitants. It is one of the most densely populated countries on the continent. A third of the population are women of reproductive age and the absence of essential health services presents major risks to their health and survival. High fertility levels allied to low contraceptive uptake, and widespread poverty combine to drive high risks related to sexual and reproductive health (SRH). In response, the Association Comorienne pour le Bien-Être Famille (ASCOBEF) is delivering a comprehensive range of sexual and reproductive health programmes and services. These include family planning, gynaecological counselling and services, antenatal care, information, education and communication (IEC) programmes and behaviour change communications (BCC) activities to promote health-seeking behaviour. It is also playing a major advocacy role in the fight against gender-based violence, and has provided extensive victim support. The majority of ASCOBEF's clients are poor, marginalized, socially excluded and/or under-served. ASCOBEF deliver services and programmes supported by volunteers, Youth Action Movement members and peer educators. ASCOBEF works in partnership with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including Réseau Femmes et Développement. It receives financial support from UNFPA, the Global Fund, UNICEF and the World Health Organization.

In February 2024, Family Planning New Zealand changes its name to Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa. Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa runs 30 permanent clinics which offer a range of sexual and reproductive health services, including contraceptive advice and prescriptions, insertion of contraceptive implants and intra uterine devices, testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV, pregnancy testing and advice, and cervical screening. Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa provides early medical abortion at two of its clinics. We also provide clinical training and development courses for doctors, nurses, midwives and other health professionals.   We also run schools-based clinics, predominantly in high needs areas, and its health promoters operate out of 15 locations across the country. The health promoters work with schools, parents, and caregivers to lead courses on sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Since sexuality education became a compulsory component of the health curriculum in New Zealand schools in 2001, Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa has developed a range of curriculum aligned teaching resources and courses to support teachers and school staff to deliver effective SRH lessons.  The organisation plays a key role in advocating at national and international level for legislative change to promote the right to control SRH as a fundamental human right. It is the secretariat for the New Zealand Parliamentarians Group on Population and Development, where the organisation’s expertise in delivering services to answer people’s SRH needs provides a practical grounding for policy improvements.  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swaotearoa/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sexualwellbeingaotearoa TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sexualwellbeingaotearoa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sexualwellbeingaotearoa