Member Associations

Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa, and the tenth most populous in the world, has enormous sexual and reproductive health (SRH) challenges as the statistics demonstrate.  The Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia (FGAE) celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015. It has a broad reach which focuses on providing poor and marginalized populations with family planning, safe abortion care, maternal and child health care, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) including HIV and AIDS and associated opportunistic infections.  In the shape of permanent clinics, mobile facilities and community-based services (CBSs), FGAE has numerous service points. Staff, backed by over thousands of volunteers, hundreds of peer educators and demand creators.   There’s no disguising the fact that achieving proper SRH amongst the Ethiopian people is an exhausting uphill struggle. FGAE has the will, the determination and the backing to fight for people’s rights and welfare.  Access is key to the Member Association’s activity, and it works extensively with young people to inform, educate and provide essential SRH services. FGAE also runs special projects targeted at particularly vulnerable individuals and groups: street children, people living with HIV and AIDS, sex workers, and young migrants in 8 of the 11 principal Regions in Ethiopia.  FGAE partners with government, with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including the  Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth, UNFPA-Ethiopia, CARE-Ethiopia, DKT-Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Women’s Lawyer Association, and a broad spectrum of HIV and AIDS-related operations.  Private sector partners include networks of 420 private health facilities and donors to the Member Association’s work include the Royal Netherlands Embassy, the Packard Foundation, IPPF’s Japan Trust Fund, USAID/CDC and DFID.   

Gestos is a philanthropic organization founded in 1993 by sociologist Acioli Neto, journalist Alessandra Nilo, sociologist Márcia Andrade and social worker Silvia Dantas. The first project developed was supported by MISEREOR and focused on psychological care for people living with AIDS, as well as the training of information multipliers in the poorest communities of the Metropolitan Region of Recife. Since then, they have effectively contributed to guaranteeing the human rights of people living with HIV and AIDS. About 70% of the people who have sought legal support from the institution have had their rights redressed, through precautionary measures and sentences, which today are even part of the list of jurisprudence on the subject of Law and AIDS. Throughout its history, the organization has considered communication as fundamental in the fight against AIDS and has fought to expand this understanding in Pernambuco, Brazil and Latin America. This vision has consolidated Gestos as an important reference in Communication and AIDS in the country, with special emphasis on discussions on Public Policies on Health Communication. They also help to form new civil society organizations, such as the National Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (RNPVHA - 1995), the Positive Work Group - GTP+ (2000), the Group of Positive Actions (2003), the Group of Support to HIV Positive People (GASP) 2003, Acts of Citizenship (2006). From 2007 to 2011, Gestos created and coordinated the UNGASS-AIDS Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Health, where it oversaw the implementation of agreements signed at the UN in sixteen developing countries. The UNGASS-AIDS Forum has established itself as a space for political debate on issues related to HIV and AIDS and sexual and reproductive health and rights. They are also a consultative NGO at the UN, with ECOSOC status since 2017.   Instagram Twitter