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Mariyam a 25-year-old woman, who lived in Addu Atoll in Maldives, was having a battle of wits with Ahmed, her young three year old. He threw temper tantrums and just couldn’t be disciplined. Thankfully, one day Mariyam attended a session on better parenting skills organised by Society of Health & Education (SHE). SHE was the first non-governmental organisation in Maldives to establish a family planning clinic where couples could get information, education and counselling to plan their families. It also provides psycho-social support and counselling to children and adults. Through various approaches such as play therapy, children as well as adults are helped to develop life skills and cope with the grief, anger, anguish and possible abuse in their life. During the session on parenting, Mariyam requested for help in dealing with Ahmed. Thereafter through extended telephonic counselling sessions; it was revealed that Mariyam was currently pregnant with her fourth child. Her husband worked away from home and visited occasionally during holidays. Her pregnancy, combined with childcare needs at home, was taking a toll on Mariyam, making her feel weak and irritable, even overwhelmed at times. Understanding this, the counsellor suggested that she set aside a time to play with her son every day. When Mariyam put it into practice, she discovered that all her son wanted from her was some attention. The counsellor then helped her and her husband explore different family planning options when her husband came visiting the household. Together they decided to adopt a family planning option once Mariyam had delivered. He also decided to stay on the island for a few months and work at his father’s carpentry in order to help his wife to look after the children post-delivery. The couple visited SHE clinic for counselling on contraceptives post delivery and Mariyam has been a client ever since.

Indumati, her (now departed) mother-in-law and her three daughters-in-law represent three generations of women in Maharashtra, India who have benefitted from the services of Family Planning Association of India. All three generations have been a part of women’s collectives’ movement encouraging women to participate in the socio-economic life of the family and community. Becoming a member of the women’s collectives helped Indumati to step beyond the boundaries of her home and begin participating in the community life of the village. Be it cleanliness drives in the village or celebrating all festivals with equal fervour created spaces for the women to contribute to the social wellbeing of the village. The next stop was micro-savings for economic independence. When the women realised that the women of their and neighbouring villages don’t have any healthcare services, they approached Family Planning Association of India (FPAI) to start a clinic in their area. When FPAI agreed the women’s group pooled money and contributed towards the building of the clinic. With increased access to healthcare services came increased awareness. Most women’s group imparted training on SRHR to the collective members. Some collective members even began to stock the contraceptives provided by FPAI so that women could access them in privacy and confidentiality. Indumati has three sons and one daughter. Each of her three sons has two children each. Her daughters-in-law were able to get information and adopted family planning methods due to her involvement with the women’s collectives. The inter-generational impact of access to family planning services is clearly visible in her household.

Rashida, a young 23-year-old woman, hails from a remote village in Barisal, Bangladesh. Barisal and its neighbouring areas are near the sea shore where one has to live with the constantly changing shoreline and increasing water levels. The search for high ground drives the villagers further inland increasing their remoteness and isolation. Every year Rashida’s village is cut-off for months during the monsoons, making it even more difficult for her access healthcare and other services. As a mother to two young children, she doesn’t want another pregnancy. “Between my household chores and taking care of these two feisty children, I have very little time left for anything else”, says Rashida. While she needs to use contraceptives, she isn’t able to take time out for a long trek to the nearest health centre. Recognising the needs of women of reproductive age like Rashida, Family Planning Association of Bangladesh (FPAB) conducts outreach camps in remote and hard to reach areas, where sexual and reproductive healthcare services such as antenatal checkups, contraceptive provision and other related services are offered. Such camps most often than not mean the difference between planned pregnancies as opposed to unintended ones. At these camps, the Reproductive Health Promoter (RHP) who is the community health worker of FPAB, provides information and counselling on contraception and birth spacing. The RHP is supported by a paramedic and a medical officer for service delivery. It was in one such camp that Rashida opted for an injectable contraceptive. “I finally have the freedom and means to choose if I want another child or not”, says Rashida with a big smile.

IPPF South Asia implemented an advocacy initiative to promote the integration of sexual reproductive health (SRH) and HIV in Global Fund Mechanism and country health system in eight South Asian Countries. The eight Member Associations were able to reach approximately 150 CSOs in eight countries over the period of four years. MAs also engaged with a diverse group of stakeholders which include Government, Media, Youth, vulnerable key population, Parliamentarians and CCM members of Global Fund. In South Asia HIV prevalence is concentrated but vulnerability is high in all the eight project implementing countries. Through this project initiative, an effort was given to enhance understanding of relevant stakeholders on the benefits of the integrated response to SRH and HIV concerning to both prevention and treatment.

Family Planning Association of India is undertaking a Family Planning Campaign called Run for Family Planning or ‘RUN4FP’ in the upcoming ‘Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon’ to be held on January 15, 2017. Dr Kalpana Apte, Secretary General of FPA India and Mr Umesh Aradhya, President of FPA India will be participating in the Mumbai Marathon to spread awareness about Family Planning. They will be supported in this endeavour by the head of few organisations working on Family Planning, leading gynaecologists, celebrities etc. Dr.Apte says Family Planning is an important cause as almost one-third of all married women were married before they had turned 18 (Census 2011). These young brides face extreme pressure to have a baby immediately after marriage! The majority of these girls or women do not have access to information and services that can help them to plan their lives, including pregnancies and childbirth, according to their priorities. The donations received through this campaign will enable FPA India support millions of Indian young people make choices and realise their sexual and reproductive rights!! Please check out on www.fpaindia.org

 “People used to shout at me when I was distributing condoms. ‘You’re not a good girl,  you’re not of good character’ they’d say. They called me many bad things.”  “But later on, after getting married, whenever I visited those families they came and said:  ‘you did a really good job. We realise that now and feel sorry for what we said before.”  Rita Chawal is recalling her time as a volunteer for the Family Planning Association of  Nepal (FPAN), Nepal’s largest family planning organisation. Her experiences point to the crucial importance of family planning education and support in Nepal, a country still affected by severe maternal and infant mortality rates and poor access to contraception.  Poor government services, remote communities, a failing transport network and strict patriarchal structures can make access to family planning and health services a  challenge for many people across the country. Services like FPAN’s are vital to reach as many people as possible. Rita is now 32 years old and herself a client of FPAN. She lives with her husband and six-year-old son in Bhaktapur, an ancient temple city, 15 kilometres from the centre of Kathmandu. Before getting married, she spent 10 years working as a family planning youth volunteer for FPAN, running classes on sexual health, safe abortion and contraception. Her time at the organisation set her in good stead for married life: after marrying she approached FPAN right away to get family planning support, antenatal classes, and, later on, contraception. “I had all this knowledge, so I decided to come and take the services,” she says. “I found that the services here were very good.” But Rita is far from the norm. She shudders when she recalls the abuse she received from neighbours and her community when she worked distributing contraception. Stigma still surrounds contraception in many places: for an unmarried young woman like Rita to be distributing condoms was seen as immoral by many, particularly older, people, even in an urban setting like Bhaktapur. Stigma can be even more extreme in rural areas. Across Nepal, rumours about the side effects of different contraceptive devices are also a problem. Attitudes are slowly changing. Rita says people now come to her whenever they have a family planning problem. “I have become a role model for the community,” she says. She herself is now using the contraceptive implant, a decision she arrived at after discussing different options with FPAN volunteers. She has tried different methods. After her son’s birth, she began using the contraceptive injection. “After the injection, I shifted to oral pills for six months, but that didn’t suit me,” she says. “It gave me a headache and made me feel dizzy. So I had a consultation with FPAN and they advised me to use the implant. I use it now and feel really good and safe. It’s been five years now.” This kind of advice and support can transform the lives of entire families in Nepal. Reductions in maternal and infant mortality, sexual health, female empowerment and dignity, and access to safe abortion are just a few of the life-changing benefits that organisations like FPAN can bring.