Member Associations

The Reproductive and Family Health Association of Fiji (RFHAF) was inaugurated in June 1996. It has played a key role in shaping national family planning policy and in promoting sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education, particularly among young people and communities in which myths about the dangers of family planning prevail. The use of contraceptives is still believed by many to cause cancer and immature childbirth. RFHAF has also undertaken concerted national advocacy work (with a particular emphasis on HIV and AIDS) through its involvement with the National Advisory Committee on AIDS and the country co-ordinating mechanism. As such, it played a critical role in securing the HIV Prevention and Treatment Decree which outlaws discrimination, promotes counselling, testing and reporting, assures confidentiality, and legislates on the supply of blood products. The organization’s committed promotion of wider awareness of SRH issues is changing attitudes, and as attitudes change, uptake of services increase.

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.