The International Day of the Rural Woman is a day set aside to shine a light on the conditions of the rural woman. IPPFAR works across 40 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, providing a wide range of sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information and services, mostly targeting marginalized and vulnerable populations, who include rural women and girls. Through its network of Member Associations and Collaborative Partners in the 40 countries, IPPFAR provides these services through static clinics, mobile clinics, and collaborative events with partners. In this photo story, we highlight one such activity in Bamako, Mali, where IPPF’s Member Association in the country, Association Malienne pour la Protection et la Promotion de la Famille (AMPPF) conducts mobile outreach activities. Villagers wait their turn outside the mobile clinic at Missala village outside Bamako, Mali. The village of Missala sits an hour south of Mali’s sprawling capital, Bamako. Most of the few hundred villagers here remain reliant on agriculture, and despite their proximity to the city, poor roads and lack of public transport have left them isolated. The mobile clinic of the Association Malienne pour la Protection et la Promotion de la Famille (AMPPF) rolls into town once a month. It provides free contraception and smear tests/pap smears, and women also ask for advice on all aspects of their health and wellbeing. Aminata Traoré receives treatment from service provider and midwife Mariame Doumbia at the mobile clinic.   Midwife Mariame Doumbia says: “I like what I do. I like helping people, especially the young ones. They know I am always on call to help them, and even if I don’t know the answer at that moment, I will find out. I like everything about my work. Actually, it’s not just work for me, and I became a midwife for that reason. I’ve always been an educator on these issues in my community." Photos credit: IPPF/Xaume Olleros/Mali For more updates on our work, follow IPPF Africa Region on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and You Tube.

From 2018 to 2020, funding from Global Affairs Canada (GAC), through the She Decides project, supported IPPF and its local partners in five priority countries – Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Malawi, and Mali – to expand their reach and impact in advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), particularly for those who are most marginalized. During the project period, partners provided close to 17 million SRH services at their service delivery points, such as STI screenings, HIV testing, safe abortion, and counselling and access to modern contraceptives such as long-term injectables, surpassing the initial target by 770,000. The vast majority of clients receiving these services (76.5%) are those living below the poverty line, frequently at great distances from existing health services/facilities, who may be internally displaced as a result of humanitarian crises, and are often further marginalized on the basis of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Funding through She Decides enabled partners to develop and implement innovative strategies for reaching these populations and the most hard-to-reach regions that had some of the worst SRHR indicators. For example, In Malawi, our Member Association - Family Planning Association of Malawi (FPAM) - expanded its service delivery to rural, under-served communities in four districts (Dedza, Dowa, Mzuzu and Lilongwe) through outreach services, and strengthened provision of a comprehensive package of integrated SRH services through static clinics in 12 districts. Over the course of implementation, FPAM reached approximately 555,186 (over 25 years) women and 659,382 (<25 years) girls with integrated SHR services. A particular focus of the project has been to increase the access of hard-to-reach youth to SRHR information and services, through Youth Life Centers, youth outreach clinics, and intensive involvement of youth in outreach activities and awareness-raising campaigns. In Mali, IPPF Member Association - Association Malienne pour la Promotion et la Protection de la Famille (AMPPF) - used multiple service delivery strategies to expand access to SRH services in some of the most under-served regions of the country, some of them affected by ongoing security risks. It includes the regions of Kayes, Koulikoro, Sikasso, Ségou, Mopti, Gao, and Bamako District. Over the course of the project, AMPPF provided 1,524,825 integrated SRH services to over 556,228 women and girls. AMPPF organized 857 community engagement activities, including outreach at highly attended community festivals, reaching an estimated 41,423 people with positive messages about SRHR. In addition to directly supporting services and community mobilization to reach specific vulnerable populations in each country, She Decides has helped boost partners’ advocacy efforts to champion sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), in particular for a more enabling environment in which governments and other key decision-makers are committed to upholding and fulfilling SRHR. Through this project, partners completed 2,005 specific advocacy engagements. Partners contributed to 31 advocacy wins that engender greater respect and protection of SRHR and have long-term implications for the health and wellbeing of women and girls in project countries. Key high-level advocacy initiatives included: incorporation of SRHR in municipal development plans in project regions (Colombia); approval of the National Plan to Reduce Teen Pregnancy (Dominican Republic); increasing contraceptive security and transparency around SRH financing (Guatemala); advancing abortion law reform (Malawi); and advocating for the integration of SRH into the COVID-19 response (Mali). Underpinning these interventions was a deliberate effort to build partners’ overall sustainability through data and financial systems strengthening and sustainability efforts to improve their resilience to future shocks, whether from a sudden loss of donor funding or a crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic, which erupted in the last quarter of the project, tested this capacity as partners pivoted quickly to provide continuity of services and to advocate for the inclusion of SRHR as part of the emergency response. For more information, visit the project report: GAC/She Decides Report

The objective of the project is to build the capacity of women's movements, via sub-grants and organizational development support, especially for small organizations, often non-registered, to address and respond to gender-based violence. Budget:  14,000 000 EUR Donor: Agence Française de Développement (AFD) Timeline: 4 years (Start date – Q2 of 2022) Project implementation areas: Mexico and Columbia in Latin-America (led by MdM), Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Asia (led by CREA) and Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guinea the Ivory Cost, Kenya and Mali (led by IPPFARO Partners: IPPF ARO, Médecins du Monde(MdM), Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action (CREA), FIDH (International Federation on Human Rights) & Empow’Her. Other interesting information: It is the first time IPPF has received direct funding from AFD, the first time we are partnering with these new consortium partners and delivering on a large global project. The project supporting CSOs in Kenya Youth Changers Kenya (YCK) is a community-based organization that was founded in 2015 to promote sexual reproductive health and rights and to address systemic issues of sexual violence among adolescent girls and young women from rural and peri- urban areas. YCK’s work with girls & young women strives to provide knowledge and skills necessary to pursue education, participate in policy spaces, delay pregnancy, make informed choices and build self-confidence. At the same time, YCK strategically engages with key gate keepers to build a strong collaboration aimed at developing a more equitable justice system for sexual violence against girls and women.YCK has five thematic areas of focus which include: advocacy, sexual reproductive health and rights, girls’ education, mental health, and sexual violence. While maintaining a national focus, YCK’s 2020 focus was honed in Kakamega,  Kiambu and Nairobi counties, owing to the increased rates of SRHR violations in both areas. Further information about their work can be found here: Youth Changers Kenya – Youth Changers Kenya (YCK) is a community-based organization that was founded in 2015 to promote sexual reproductive health and rights and to address systemic issues of sexual violence among adolescent girls and young women from rural and peri- urban areas Jinsiangu focuses its work on Intersex, Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Individuals. Jinsiangu seeks to ensure that the lives and wellbeing of ITGNC persons are enhanced through the establishment of safe spaces, through advocacy and research, through the provision of information, health services, and psycho-social support, and by fostering opportunities for holistic empowerment. It is probably the FON-supported organisation in Kenya that is the strongest in terms of advocacy. FON (through our partner FIDH – Federation international des droits de l’Homme), supported Jinsiangu to attend the AU advocacy training in Arusha Tanzania last month and FON has also nominated them for CSW68, next year, because their advocacy plans include participation in this event. Website: jinsiangu , Intersex, Transgender, Gender-Non-Conforming Kenya MaryFaith Children Center MFCC is a dedicated rescue center that has been unwavering in its commitment to providing essential support and care to sexually abused girls, many of whom have endured the trauma of incestuous relationships with relatives or close family friends. Website: Mary Faith Children Centre – Securing children from societal abuse Smart Ladies Youth Initiative SLYI is a community-based organization that uses sports and Art as a unique tool for mobilizing girls and young women to dialogue on their Sexual Reproductive Health challenges. This unique approach has created avenues of reaching the vulnerable age and has developed trust and confidence in discussing any challenges girls and young women face. No Website. Entashata Loita: Entashata Loita Community Based Organization (CBO) serves the Maasai pastoralist community in the arid and semi-arid lands of Loita Division in Kenya, sharing climate adaptation strategies and advocating for women and girls’ rights to education and abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).  Kiambu Sex Workers Alliance (KIASWA): Established in 2014, the Kiambu Sex Workers Association (KIASWA) was founded by female sex workers to provide sexual and reproductive health services to Trans sex workers and female sex workers, including those using drugs, primarily in Kiambu county slums. KIASWA aims to economically empower the sex worker community in Central Kenya through initiatives such as entrepreneurship skills training, short courses, and table banking. Although its positive impact in Kiambu County was evident within six months, the challenges posed by HIV and AIDS prompted the group to seek official recognition. As one of the pioneering organizations in Central Kenya, KIASWA focuses on promoting the rights of female sex workers, adolescent girls, young women, women who have sex with women, and women who use drugs (referred to as KIASWA key populations). With a strong reputation for influencing national and local policies related to HIV prevention, care, and treatment, human rights awareness, and economic empowerment, KIASWA actively advocates for marginalized groups, aiming to reduce stigma and discrimination. The organization's goal is to influence policy and improve access to high-quality healthcare, human rights education, legal assistance, and economic empowerment for important populations, including female sex workers, teenage girls, and young women. Members actively participate in economic empowerment, gender and human rights awareness, HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, care, and support, as well as advocacy. In addressing stigma and discrimination, KIASWA speaks up for marginalized groups and involves various stakeholders in advocacy and policy discussions. HOME - KIASWA (kiaswa-ke.org)  

The current film highlights the intervention of the She Decides project in Mali, a two-year initiative (2018-2020) that operated in isolated areas affected by insecurity and entrenched humanitarian crisis to provide essential Sexual and Reproductive Health (SHR) services to the most vulnerable groups through outreach, clinics, and referrals. Through the voices of project beneficiaries, health services providers, local authorities, project officials, the film depicts the project's detailed intervention and success through innovative outreach activities and mobile service offers. The project has been funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and implemented with the support of the Association Malienne pour la Promotion du Planning Familial (AMPPF).

The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and its network of Member Organizations/partners constitute the world’s largest provider of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and share a long history of being at the forefront of promoting and defending sexual and reproductive health and rights. Working toward a vision in which “all people are free to make choices about their sexuality and well-being, in a world free of discrimination,” IPPF emphasizes the intersectionality of good health and well-being with poverty, gender, race, ethnicity, addressing these through the provision of integrated, rights- based, and gender-inclusive health services for all.  From 2018 to 2020, funding from Global Affairs Canada (GAC), through the She Decides project, supported IPPF and its local partners in five priority countries – Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Malawi, and Mali – to expand their reach and impact in advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), particularly for those who are most marginalized. During the project period, partners provided close to 17 million SRH services at their service delivery points, such as STI screenings, HIV testing, safe abortion, and counseling and access to modern contraceptives such as long-term injectables, surpassing the initial target by 770,000. The vast majority of clients receiving these services (76.5%) are those living below the poverty line, frequently at great distances from existing health services/facilities, who may be internally displaced as a result of humanitarian crises, and are often further marginalized on the basis of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.  Funding through GAC/She Decides enabled partners to develop and implement innovative strategies for reaching these populations and the most hard-to-reach regions that had some of the worst SRHR indicators. For example, In Malawi, our Member Association - Family Planning Association of Malawi (FPAM) - expanded its service delivery to rural, under-served communities in four districts (Dedza, Dowa, Mzuzu and Lilongwe) through outreach services, and strengthened provision of a comprehensive package of integrated SRH services through static clinics in 12 districts. Over the course of implementation, FPAM reached approximately 555,186 (over 25 years) women and 659,382 (<25 years) girls with integrated SHR services. A particular focus of the project has been to increase the access of hard-to-reach youth to SRHR information and services, through Youth Life Centers, youth outreach clinics, and intensive involvement of youth in outreach activities and awareness-raising campaigns. In Mali, IPPF Member Association - Association Malienne pour la Promotion et la Protection de la Famille (AMPPF) - used multiple service delivery strategies to expand access to SRH services in some of the most under-served regions of the country, some of them affected by ongoing security risks. It includes the regions of Kayes, Koulikoro, Sikasso, Ségou, Mopti, Gao, and Bamako District. Over the course of the project, AMPPF provided 1,524,825 integrated SRH services to over 556,228 women and girls. AMPPF organized 857 community engagement activities, including outreach at highly attended community festivals, reaching an estimated 41,423 people with positive messages about SRHR. In addition to directly supporting services and community mobilization to reach specific vulnerable populations in each country, She Decides has helped boost partners’ advocacy efforts to champion sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), in particular for a more enabling environment in which governments and other key decision-makers are committed to upholding and fulfilling SRHR. Through this project, partners completed 2,005 specific advocacy engagements. Partners contributed to 31 advocacy wins that engender greater respect and protection of SRHR and have long-term implications for the health and wellbeing of women and girls in project countries.  Key high-level advocacy initiatives included: incorporation of SRHR in municipal development plans in project regions (Colombia); approval of the National Plan to Reduce Teen Pregnancy (Dominican Republic); increasing contraceptive security and transparency around SRH financing (Guatemala); advancing abortion law reform (Malawi); and advocating for the integration of SRH into the COVID-19 response (Mali). Underpinning these interventions was a deliberate effort to build partners’ overall sustainability through data and financial systems strengthening and sustainability efforts to improve their resilience to future shocks, whether from a sudden loss of donor funding or a crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic, which erupted in the last quarter of the project, tested this capacity as partners pivoted quickly to provide continuity of services and to advocate for the inclusion of SRHR as part of the emergency response.