Niamien Ouattara, aged 38 years old is from Côte d’Ivoire. She shares her testimony about accessing sexual reproductive health (SRH) services from IPPF's Member Association in the country.

"Three years ago I walked into the Association Ivoirienne pour le Bien-Etre Familial (AIBEF) Treichville Referral Clinic to have a gynaecological problem that had troubled me for a long time treated. Doctors at the clinic were able to diagnose it, and placed me on a treatment regimen which completely managed my problem.

The friendly treatment I got from the clinic has made me seek AIBEF’s assistance whenever I have reproductive health challenges. Services provided by the clinic are of high quality and the doctors are there whenever you want them, which is not the case with other clinics in the country. I am now more confident of my sexuality than ever before, thanks to the information I get from the association’s clinic.

I am not the only one who has during these years benefited from the AIBEF services. All my four children get attended to at this clinic when they are unwell. Every time one of them is sick, I rush them to the clinic. What is even more heartening is when they fall sick at night, I call the doctor and my problem is solved. The doctors at this clinic are now like family doctors who are always there for us.

The other benefit is the education and knowledge I have gained from the AIBEF. Nurses at the clinic empowered me with skills on how to engage my children on reproductive health issues. With these skills I am able to discuss sexuality issues with my children, something I could not do in the past. I even give condoms to my grown-up children because I do not want to pretend that they are not sexually active. My husband does not object to that. AIBEF is my first point of call, offering great services to many people."

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