Member Associations

The Planned Parenthood Association of Sierra Leone (PPASL), established in 1959, works on a range of serious sexual and reproductive health (SRH) issues to improve people's health and quality of life. A key focus is to improve access to maternal health care, to reduce the risk of maternal and infant death. PPASL accesses the community through 5 service points, 12 workplace outreach projects, and 3 youth centres, via a 40-strong permanent staff team, backed by nearly 300 volunteers, 9 community-based distributors (CBDs) and a Youth Action Movement membership of 150. There is a 90% prevalence of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the country, and finding ways to handle the attendant psychological and physical trauma is one of the organization’s major challenges. Much of PPASL’s work is directed towards behaviour change communication (BCC) among community leaders, police and army personnel and Muslim and Christian groups. Safe motherhood, family planning, and the sensitisation of young people to SRH concerns are also central to the direct services which PPASL provides.    The Member Association works in partnership with government health and development ministries and the Sierra Leone Armed Forces Hospitals. Non-governmental organization (NGO) partners include the Reproductive Health Service, CHASL, MSSL, National AIDS Secretariat/SHARP and the Marie Stopes Society. PPASL receives financial support from UNFPA, UNICEF, UNAIDS, the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Plan International, MOHS & RH UNIT, Marie Stopes Society, SL Red Cross Society and Action Aid.  Contacts Website: www.ppasl.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/454639337890032/

Rahnuma (formerly the Family Planning Association of Pakistan or FPAP) started serving poor and marginalized people in Pakistan as the Family Planning Association of Pakistan (FPAP) in 1953. After over 50 years of momentous achievements, the FPAP felt that its name did not fully reflect the scope of its work. It renamed itself ‘Rahnuma’, an Urdu word meaning 'one who shows the path and provides direction'.  Rahnuma was one of the pioneers in providing family planning services and advocating for spacing of childbirth and for smaller families. The government later embraced the cause by establishing the Ministry of Population Welfare. In the space of a decade, Rahnuma grew from a single clinic, based in 1 room in Karachi, to a large-scale operation with an infrastructure of district branches offering model clinics and information and educational facilities. Today, the network operates nearly 5,000 service points, comprising 118 permanent clinics, 11 mobile units, 191 associated clinics and over 2,000 community-based distributors/services (CBDs/CBSs). It also handles referrals to over 2,143 private physicians. Rahnuma has developed innovative programmes to increase access to high-quality, affordable health services. It has advocated for a rights-based approach to sexual and reproductive health (SRH), for the empowerment of particular groups within communities (especially women and young girls), and for the strengthening of civil society in Pakistan. As the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) agenda has shifted over the years, Rahnuma has increasingly embraced SRHR in the context of national development and poverty alleviation, owing to the direct connection between socio-economic conditions and health and well-being. Contacts Website: http://www.fpapak.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rahnuma.fpap.9 Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rahnuma_FPAP