Member Associations

Established in 1995, the Associação Cabo-Verdiana Para a Protecao Da Familia (VERDEFAM) serves a population of just over 500,000, about 10% of people living in the Republic of Cape Verde. Cape Verde is an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa. Through static service points and mobile clinics, the organization offers family planning, the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV and AIDS, and antenatal and post-natal care. Staff are supported by a large group of volunteers and specially-trained peer educators. VERDEFAM also works in collaboration with Cape Verde National TV to produce health sensitization programmes. Because of its wide-ranging sexual and reproductive health (SRH) expertise, VERDEFAM was invited to participate in the national committee of strategic SRH organizations which together formulated Cape Verde’s National Reproductive Health programme and the 2006-2011 National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan. Despite its relatively high level of development compared with many other African countries (according to a variety of international indices) the country still has worryingly high maternal and infant mortality counts. Together, these SRH challenges emphasize the importance of VERDEFAM’s services to the men, women, young people and children of the Republic. VERDEFAM works in partnership with a number of government departments, including the Ministry of Health, the Cape Verdian Institute for Gender Equality and Equity (ICIEG), the Committee for the Coordination and fight against HIV and AIDS (CCS-SIDA), the Committee for the Coordination of the fight against Drugs (CCCD) and the Ministry of Education. Civil society partners include the Organizaçao das Mulheres de Cabo Verde (OMCV) and the Red Cross and Acrides. It also works with national networks: the Comité de Coordination du Combat au VIH/SIDA, the Comité Municipal de Santé de la mairie de Praia and the Plateforme des ONGs du Cap-Verde. VERDEFAM receives funding from GTZ, the UNFPA, the National HIV and AIDS Council (BM/CCS-SIDA), ICIEG/SNU), UNICEF and UNAIDS. VERDEFAM has a private sector partnership with the national telecom company.   Contacts Website: www.verdefam.cv Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/verdefam.verde​

New Zealand Family Planning (NZFP) runs 30 permanent clinics and 30 mobile facilities which offer a range of sexual and reproductive health services, including contraceptive advice and prescriptions, testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV, pregnancy testing and advice, and cervical screening. NZFP also runs schools-based clinics, predominantly in high needs areas, and its health promoters operate at 15 locations across the country. The health promoters work with schools, parents, and caregivers to lead courses on sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Some of this work extends into prisons and marae (Maori meeting places). Since sexuality education became compulsory in New Zealand secondary schools in 2001, NZFP has been closely involved in running courses, and in training staff to deliver effective SRH lessons. The organization plays a key role in advocating at national and international level for legislative change to promote the right to control SRH as a fundamental human right. It is a particularly active participant in the New Zealand Parliamentarians Group on Population and Development, where the organization’s expertise in delivering services to answer people’s SRH needs provides a practical grounding for policy improvements. Contacts Website: www.familyplanning.org.nz  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/familyplanningnz