Member Associations

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.  

The Foundation for Research on Women’s Health, Productivity and the Environment (BAFROW) is a non-profit organization that complements the development efforts of the Government of The Gambia and other national partners through a holistic and integrated Social and Economic Empowerment Program geared towards improving the quality of life of the most vulnerable and marginalized people, especially women and girls, in targeted rural and urban communities. The overall goal of our program is to empower communities to take charge of their health and economic well-being, with emphasis on their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). BAFROW’s approach Our approach is holistic, multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral and based on the principle that sound health is closely linked with economic well-being, knowledge and skills, conducive physical and social environments, good personal and environmental hygiene, and the absence of all cultural practices that affect the health and well-being of women and girls, thereby bridging gaps and creating linkages between these issues. Projects BAFROW’s main projects are: 1) Health promotion and health service delivery 2) Combatting practices that are harmful to health including female genital mutilation/ cutting (FGM/C) 3) HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support 4) Obstetric fistula treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration, and 5) Women’s economic empowerment and the environment Service delivery Our hospital, BAFROW Medical Centre which is operated under our Health promotion and health service delivery project, is registered as a commercial entity. The service delivery points of our two functional health facilities are: Serrekunda, Kanifing Municipality for BAFROW Medical Centre; and Mandinaba Village, Brikama Local Government Area for BAFROW’s Well Woman and Family Clinic.  BAFROW provides clinical services under the following specialized areas: Family Medicine Internal Medicine Cardiology Infant and Child Welfare/ Paediatrics Obstetrics and Gynaecology Specifically on SRHR, BAFRWO provides: Maternity care and services Fertility treatment (for both men and women) Abortion-related services Contraceptives & emergency contraceptives Sexually transmitted disease screening and treatment HIV testing; referrals for HIV treatment Care services for rape including PEP Screening and treatment or referrals if necessary for other diseases of the reproductive system Obstetric fistula reparation surgery, and rehabilitation and reintegration services Information, education and counselling for all the above and on other SRH issues Email: [email protected]