| 31 March 2016
Barbados Family Planning Association (BFPA)
The BFPA also known as the Barbados Family Planning Association is a benevolent organization created to protect, serve, and empower every Barbadian with their Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights embedded in a human and Sexual rights approach. The Association carries out its mission in the following ways clinical and medical service; education; national, community and individual intervention programs; strategic advocacy; intense research; provision of data; and most importantly protecting the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in society. It was established by an act of Parliament in 1954 and governed by an elected group of volunteers. The Association is an independent entity and governed by a constitution. The BFPA for transparency and accountability is governed by a Board of Ten (10) Elected Directors (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Public Relation Officer and Five Floor members which consist of two youth members). For further accountability and transparency, several government agencies have ex-officio representatives on the Board these are the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Ministry of Youth Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Innovation, and the private sector. The diversity is further reflected through our Board and member with additional ex-officio e.g., LGBTQI Persons, Women’s groups, youth, and other partners. The Association is operationally managed by an Executive Director who is supported by highly technical, skilled, and qualified staff. Through a well-managed and sustainable revitalization process, the BFPA membership and board reflects the diversity that is in Barbados, with the following characteristics: age, ethnicity, religious preference, disability, sexuality, and socio-economic diversity. The BFPA has one location which is a comprehensive clinical facility and community social service hub. With the reorganisation of the work of the BFPA under the societal impact and sustainability pillars of Medical and Clinical Services, Commodity Distribution, Sexual Rights Advocacy and Intervention Programming, Counselling and Mental Health Support, and lastly the protection of the freedom of all to have Sexual Pleasure in a safe, respectful, and private manner.
| 31 March 2016
Mauritius Family Planning & Welfare Association
Established in 1957 as a grass-root movement, the Mauritius Family Planning & Welfare Association (MFPWA) was one of the earliest organizations in Africa focusing on family planning issues. As the nation struggled to find a way to address pressing population issues, a group of advocates formed MFPWA and started to provide contraceptive services directly to women. In 2018 the MFPWA is governed by an Act of Parliament 2018 as a body corporate. Today, the organization caters for the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs of the whole community. It also has particular strands of activity relating to specific groups including sexually abused children, elderly people, men and marginalized populations on Rodrigues and Agalega Islands. MFPWA has 30 staff and 50 volunteers and offers services through 2 permanent facilities and several service points. It also runs a day care centre for infants and children as a social enterprise initiative. The Association delivers services that include family planning, the prevention and management of HIV through voluntary counselling and testing, infertility management, antenatal and post-natal care, post-abortion care, the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and screening for cancers of the reproductive systems in particular breast, cervical and prostate. The Association began its first rehabilitation of sexually abused children in 2003 and has built a solid reputation in the domain. Services for the rehabilitation of victims of gender based violence had been extended to Rodrigues Island on a pilot basis in 2019. The Member Association also operates peer-educator-led outreach programmes targeting work places, namely: hotels, manufacturing industries, call centres, male-dominated sectors such as transport, police, agriculture and fisheries. MFPWA has played a critical role in promoting the integration of comprehensive sexuality education into the national school curriculum and its powerful, informed advocacy has been influential in shaping government’s agenda and policies on SRH and population issues. MFPWA partners with and advises government departments which address health, quality of life, women’s rights, child development, family welfare, social security and youth and sports. MFPWA works with a large number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), para-statal and government institutions and international partners like UNFPA, Help Age International and the European Union.