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.

Teen Services, as the name suggests, provides sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to Bermudan teenagers. It provides individual and group counselling for teens and their families, focusing on sex, pregnancy, social skills, career education and placement. The male outreach programme introduces young men to the responsibilities of fatherhood. A key part of Teen Services’ work is a Teen Pregnancy Prevention Campaign. Teenage pregnancy rates in Bermuda are high, particularly so within the Latino community, and many of these (and many adult pregnancies) are unplanned. Unplanned pregnancy is perceived to be at the root of a number of important public health and social challenges. Teen Services runs 'Teen Haven': a 24/7, fully-staffed supported living project which provides young mothers with the necessary life and parenting skills for readjustment back into the community. It also operates a Continuation School which offers a holistic programme designed to meet the emotional, social and physical needs of pregnant teenagers and young mothers. BFLA is an Associate Member Association of an umbrella organization known as the Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation Ltd (CFPA).  The Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation (CFPA) is the only regional non-governmental organization (NGO) devoted to family planning and sexual and reproductive health in the Caribbean. CFPA serves 13 island Member Associations and 5 Associate Member Associations in the Caribbean, Central and South America. It supports these Associations with technical assistance and materials, and represents their collective interests at IPPF meetings and in the Caribbean region among governments and NGOs. CFPA Member Associations are located in Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Nevis and St. Kitts, St. Lucia and St. Vincent. CFPA Associate Member Associations are located in Belize, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. The CFPA does not offer any clinical services or distribute family planning methods to clients, but rather focuses its work on governance and institution-building among its Member Associations. The CFPA oversees, manages and analyses core grants to 7 Caribbean Member Associations. The CFPA also submits project proposals for donor funding on behalf of the Associations.