Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa, and the tenth most populous in the world, has enormous sexual and reproductive health (SRH) challenges as the statistics demonstrate.

The Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia (FGAE) celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015. It has a broad reach which focuses on providing poor and marginalized populations with family planning, safe abortion care, maternal and child health care, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) including HIV and AIDS and associated opportunistic infections.

In the shape of permanent clinics, mobile facilities, community-based services (CBSs), FGAE has numerous service points. Staff, backed by over thousands volunteers, hundreds of peer educators and of community-based distributors (CBDs). 

There’s no disguising the fact that achieving proper SRH amongst the Ethiopian people is an exhausting uphill struggle. FGAE has the will, the determination and the backing to fight for people’s rights and welfare.

Access is key to the Member Association’s activity, and it works extensively with young people to inform, educate and provide essential SRH services. FGAE also runs special projects targeted at particularly vulnerable individuals and groups: street children, people living with HIV and AIDS, sex workers, and young migrants in 8 of the 11 principal Regions in Ethiopia.

FGAE partners with government, with non-governmental organisations(NGOs) including the  Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth, UNFPA-Ethiopia, CARE-Ethiopia, DKT-Ethiopia, Dawn of Hope, the Ethiopian Women’s Lawyer Association, and a broad spectrum of HIV and AIDS-related operations.

Private sector partners include Betezata Hospital and Janmeda/medical bio laboratories, and donors to the Member Association’s work include the Royal Netherlands Embassy, the Packard Foundation, IPPF’s Japan Trust Fund, USAID/CDC and Irish Aid.

Website: www.fgaeet.org