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As previously reported, we launched another project in northern Malawi in July 2022
with the aim of ensuring an improved range of youth-friendly health services in the
area of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) on a long-term and sustainable
basis. Due to high inflation in Malawi, the originally planned funding of 80,000
euros has now been increased to around 98,000 euros.
In the meantime, the project team of our local partner Pamoza has already realised
the most important goals of the project planned until the end of 2023:
- A network of 14 peer groups has been installed, whose young members are active at
schools, health centres and youth clubs in the districts of Karonga and Chipita.
The 258 members of these peer groups (132 girls and 126 boys) have undergone intensive
training and are available to other young people as contacts for all SRHR and YFHS
issues. The peer groups meet twice a week at set times to share their experiences
and receive further training - usually in the presence of a moderator with the relevant
expertise.
- So far, 11 information events have taken place at which we have communicated the
messages of our project to a broad public, reaching more than 3,500 people in total.
These events involved young people, parents and traditional authorities in the respective
communities, who were sensitised to the topic of SRHR and motivated to use the family
planning services and YFHS offered in the project area.
- In addition to these events, we reach large sections of the population in our project
area through topic-related radio programmes, theatre performances and media campaigns,
as well as with specially produced information and educational materials. Here too,
an important goal is to sensitise this target group to the issues of SRHR and family
planning. The project and its objectives were also reported on in various programmes
on several television stations.
Here a link to a programme from Mibava TV vom 16.12.2022.
- In focus groups, young and unmarried mothers, who have been victims of early unwanted
pregnancies, can also tell other young people about their experiences. The experiences
of these young mothers who became pregnant unintentionally provide crucial personal
access to family planning issues in the context of their own experiences, especially
for other adolescent girls and young women.
Lapken Liwago, District Youth Officer says of our project:
Looking at the aim and objectives of this project we feel it is timely and it is
already helping in eradicating sexual reproductive health problems including smooth
running of family planning service delivery in our health centres and also keeping
girls in school by teenage pregnancy prevention.
This project has helped reduce school drop-out cases that were caused by early pregnancies
and early marriages. What the students are learning through wanangwa wane project
is helping them concentrate on their academics rather than on sexual relationships
while in school. We wish this should be extended so that more students benefit.
Elizabeth Gondwe, Ngara Community Day Secondary School, Karonga
Although we are receiving funding for this project from the German Federal Ministry
for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), we are still dependent on your donations
so that we can reliably finance our own contribution to this project.
