Program:
Girls' Education and Youth Development
- Budget:
-
$0
- Category:
-
International, Foreign Affairs & National Security
- Population Served:
-
Females, all ages or age unspecified
-
Males, all ages or age unspecified
-
Poor/Economically Disadvantaged, Indigent, General
Program Description:
<div>
<p>CEDPA’s proven approach to development includes girls’ education and youth development programs that expand opportunities for youth to live healthy, productive lives. CEDPA engages parents, local leaders and religious institutions to build support for youth education, and particularly girls’ education. Working with community partners to provide girls with practical, non-formal education, CEDPA’s youth programs build practical life skills and develop leadership abilities to open up a world of opportunities for the future. Complementing our work with girls, CEDPA reaches out to boys providing them with the skills and training necessary to be partners with girls in making gender equality a reality. </p>
<p>CEDPA has developed an integrated and holistic approach to improving the lives of young people and has implemented it successfully in a range of countries and contexts. CEDPA’s Better Life Options and Opportunities Model incorporates life skills training for youth (particularly girls), institutional strengthening of implementing partners, community mobilization, and advocacy at the local level. The Better Life Options and Opportunities Model builds self-confidence and self-esteem in adolescents utilizing a comprehensive, participatory non-formal education and life skills curriculum, <em>Choose a Future! Issues and Options for Adolescent Girls (and Boys). </em>This curriculum began with a reproductive health focus and has grown to include modules on building healthy peer relationships, self-efficacy and self confidence, skills in decision-making and communication, gender-based violence, civic responsibility, and the environment. It was developed for facilitators to actively involve young people in creating their own solutions to situations they encounter at home, in their communities, and at school. The curriculum continues to be adapted as necessary so that it is country or region specific as well as age appropriate. </p>
</div>
<div>Currently, CEDPA is implementing several education programs that employ the Better Life Options and Opportunities Model:</div>
<div>· Better Life Options: Empowering Girls and Boys for Future Leadership in Nigeria
<div> </div>
· Towards a Better Future: Improving Educational and Health Outcomes for Girls in Southern Africa</div>
<p>· Improving Educational and Health Outcomes for Boys in Swaziland and Zambia</p>
<p>· <em>UDAAN:</em> Towards a Better Future (Jharkhand, India) and <em>PAHEL: </em>Towards Empowering Women (Bihar, India)</p>
<p>In each program, considerable attention and resources are devoted to adapting the curriculum to the local environment and to training local NGOs to implement them.</p>
Program Long-Term Success:
<div><u><strong>Increasing Educational Opportunities and Life Options for Girls and Youth</strong></u> </div>
<div>
<p>From health to human rights and from self-confidence to civic participation, CEDPA’s approach to non-formal education stresses practical life skills that expand a world of opportunities for youth and their futures. CEDPA’s youth development programs will continue to improve education, expand opportunities and strengthen the health of young people who will enter adulthood in the years to come. </p>
<p>CEDPA will continue to apply its strategic approach to expand opportunities for girls with a non-formal educational focus on life skills training for out-of-school girls. It serves two purposes: it motivates girls to delay marriage and childbearing and to continue their education, and it also gives them a means to earn a livelihood. We will continue to build family and community support to ensure that girls’ enrollment and completion of school equals that of boys. Ultimately, CEDPA will impact the social norms, practices and attitudes that prevent girls from going to school and completing their education. </p>
</div>
Program Short-Term Success:
<ul>
<li><strong>Better Life Options: Empowering Girls and Boys for Future Leadership in Nigeria</strong> </li>
</ul>
<p>The initial three-year project (2005 – 2008) empowered young girls and boys (10 – 19 years old) in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria to envision and attain a better future. CEDPA’s <em>Choose</em> <em>a Future! </em>curriculum was adapted to a regional context to respond to the specific needs of youth, particularly girls in Akwa Ibom State. The program improved the knowledge, life skills and gender awareness of these youth to better prepare them to make healthy and productive choices regarding their education, reproductive health and civic participation. CEDPA worked with four implementing partners - two non-governmental organizations and two community-based organizations - to reach about 2,000 youth in four Local Government Areas: Eket, Esit Eket, Ibeno, and Onna. </p>
<div>The current follow-on (2008 – 2010) focuses on sustaining the Better Life Options program in Akwa Ibom State and continuing to reach educationally at-risk girls and boys. The follow-on will also strengthen the capacity of the four local partners (Eket Women Development Association, Lilies Organization, Esop Mbaba Esit Eket, and Presby-AIDS Organizations) working with CEDPA to more effectively deliver youth programs and scale up community mobilization to promote the re-entry of youth into formal and vocational schools.<br />
</div>
<ul>
<li><strong>Towards a Better Future: Improving Educational and Health Outcomes for Girls in Southern Africa</strong> </li>
</ul>
<p>In 2006, CEDPA began providing quality non-formal educational programming to girls ages 10 to 14 in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland through the two-year “Towards a Better Future” pilot project. The current follow-on enables CEDPA to continue ensuring that southern African girls remain in school longer and are equipped with the skills to handle the transition from primary school to secondary school. Expected outcomes include improved coordination among relevant stakeholders for improving girls’ educational and health outcomes; increased support for implementing CEDPA programs to promote gender parity in education in the region; and improved capacity and enhanced capability of our local implementing partner Forum for African Women Educationalist of Zambia to implement after-school programs. </p>
<div>The current Cape Flats YMCA project will positively affect the educational and health outcomes of the adolescent girls enrolled at its twenty-four sites. The program’s six week Inter-Generational Communication module addresses communication barriers/concerns of the girls and their parents/guardians on six thematic topics, including gender-based violence, presented within youth and parental contexts. The Inter-Generational Communication component will increase participants’ communication skills and ease communication between parents and children.<br />
<br />
</div>
<ul>
<li><strong>Improving Educational and Health Outcomes for Boys in Swaziland and Zambia</strong> </li>
</ul>
<p>CEDPA will reach up to 800 boys (10 – 14 years old) by adapting the southern Africa life skills curriculum for girls and working through local partners to implement and monitor the program. CEDPA will also share the results with partners, their stakeholders, ministries of education and health, and donors. Expected outcomes include improved knowledge of educational and health issues relevant to young boys in Southern Africa (e.g., life skills, attitudes towards education and gender awareness) and increased technical capacity of two local organizations in Zambia (Forum for African Women Educationalists in Zambia) and Swaziland (Manzini Youth Care) to implement after-school life skills programs for young boys. </p>
<div>This project offers an understanding of the issues young boys in the region consider relevant to their educational and health outcomes and provides an opportunity to produce positive changes for girls through the attitudes of boys. The project also provides a different way to approach adolescent boys about the dangers of multiple sexual partners, violence, and their perception of their risk of contracting HIV/AIDS in two countries with the highest incidence rates. By adapting its life skills curriculum for girls to the unique needs of adolescent boys in region, CEDPA will be able to complement its previous work with girls. Addressing the issues faced by adolescents through a gender lens presents an opportunity to influence stakeholders at local, national and regional levels to develop programs that meet the specific needs of both girls and boys equally.<br />
</div>
<ul>
<li>
<div align="left"><strong><em>UDAAN:</em> Towards a Better Future (Jharkhand, India) </strong>and<strong> <em>PAHEL: </em>Towards Empowering Women (Bihar, India)</strong></div>
</li>
</ul>
<p>These programs aim to promote positive, comprehensive adolescent development and establish a cadre of healthy and empowered young people in Jharkhand and Bihar who are capable of making healthy decisions, practicing healthy behaviors and who will act as agents of change to improve the lives of their peers and communities. The interventions in both states focus on strengthening public-private partnership to (1) support and scale-up a sustainable adolescent life skills education program through government schools in Jharkhand and (2) initiate a leadership program for elected women representatives to advocate for and strengthen the public service delivery system to promote the sexual and reproductive health of young women and young couples in two selected blocks in Bihar. </p>
Program Success Monitored by:
<div>
<p>Project success is measured using CEDPA’s standardized Monitoring and Evaluation tools for collecting data (e.g., project attendance and completion rates) to assess change and provide support to facilitators. The instruments include a pre/post intervention questionnaire for participants (translated into local languages and included a glossary of terms in each language against the English terms); a spot check tool to provide constructive feedback to facilitators; monthly reporting forms; and a database for summarizing project outputs. Project staff visit schools to monitor participant attendance and performance in school. </p>
<p>Case studies and/or other qualitative methods such as in-depth interviews or focus group discussions are administered to determine the results of the Inter-Generational Communication component that CEDPA implements in the field. These results are used to document the project’s performance and to underline best practices and/or lessons learned for improving CEDPA’s program design.</p>
<p>Program results are tracked/monitored through Quarterly Service Statistics Reports and narrative reports completed and submitted by country offices.</p>
</div>
Program Success Examples:
<p>CEDPA has successfully implemented variations of its non-formal education program in many countries, benefiting hundreds of thousands of youth. CEDPA’s <em>Choose a Future!</em> curriculum is used by many organizations and educational professionals in the developing world to complement formal education efforts. With this successful curriculum, CEDPA has reached hundreds of thousands of youth, both in and out of school, for more than two decades including Senegal, India, Nepal, Egypt, South Africa, and Nigeria. Moreover, CEDPA’s approach has been recognized and used by the World Bank and the Peace Corps and copied and utilized by others.</p>
<div><strong><u>CEDPA’s Most Recent Data Analysis (1/08 – 12/08)</u>
<div></strong>CEDPA adapted its acclaimed <em>Choose a Future! Issues and Options for Adolescent Girls </em>curriculum to meet the needs of youth, aged 10-24, in India, Nigeria, Swaziland, and South Africa. The participatory <em>Choose a Future!</em> approach engages youth in facilitated discussion sessions about sexual development, reproductive health, HIV prevention, nutrition, hygiene, decision-making skills, civic responsibility, gender relations and career goals.</div>
</div>
<p>CEDPA implemented non-formal education and training projects in six countries: Egypt, India, Lesotho, Nigeria, South Africa and Swaziland. These programs specifically targeted girls aged 10-24. Youth development projects used CEDPA’s <em>Choose a Future!</em> curriculum as a foundation for their non-formal education. Each site modified the curriculum to better meet contextual needs. The program strives to build self-efficacy and impart knowledge by engaging youth in discussions on a wide range of issues including: reproductive health; educational aspirations and employment; environmental awareness; civic participation; emotional development and gender inequities. </p>
<p>Over the course of the year, CEDPA and its partners reached 104,111 youth through the non-formal life skills education programs, increasing their confidence to make decisions and change their lives. Also, 1,125 individuals were provided with course content and facilitation training.</p>
<p>· In 2008, CEDPA revised, piloted and scaled up the complete Nigerian version of the successful <em>Choose a Future!</em> life skills program under the <strong>Better Life Options</strong> project. CEDPA’s focus was on ensuring the sustainability of the program by improving the institutional capacity of Better Life Options partners. The project enrolled 503 youth, 405 of whom were girls. </p>
<p>· The <strong><em>UDAAN:</em> Towards a Better Future</strong> project in India trained teachers tohelp adolescent girls and boys to make better life choices concerning their reproductive and general health. Topics included HIV awareness, civic participation, education, and employment. The project enrolled 102,086 youth and trained 1,009 facilitators. </p>
<p>· The <strong>Towards a Better Future</strong> project in southern Africa has been in existence since 2006, during which time CEDPA worked with five implementing partners to provide quality after-school programming for girls ages 10-14 to assist with their transition to secondary school. Partners are now poised to provide girls with information on pregnancy, HIV prevention, gender-based violence, child rights, and developing a positive self image – topics that are often not discussed in detail at school. The project enrolled 1,522 youth, all of whom were girls, and trained 56 facilitators.</p>
<div><strong><u>Examples/Testimonials of Behavior Change and Impact</u></strong> </div>
<div><strong>“Towards a Better Future: Improving Educational and Health Outcomes for Girls in Southern Africa” - <strong>Cape Flats YMCA </strong></strong></div>
<div>
<p>The <strong>Towards a Better Future</strong> program has positively affected the educational and health outcomes of 840 adolescent girls at twenty-four sites in Cape Flats. The Cape Flats program continues to have an impact on the youth participants and their parents as well as the program facilitators. Culturally, parents do not talk <em>to</em> but rather <em>at</em> their children. The program’s Inter-Generational Communication module has encouraged youth to talk openly about how they feel on various life skills topics such as self-esteem and the challenges of puberty. </p>
</div>
<div>The testimonial given by 12 year-old W. of Cape Flats at the March 2009 dissemination workshop in South Africa vividly portrays this fact: “Before the project, I was shy, lacked self-esteem and wasn’t assertive. I was also lonely because I did not have many communication skills. Now, I feel more confident and have friends from the program…I’m not scared to ask questions.” This young girl has developed from a very shy girl who did not have friends to a much more focused young woman: “You can achieve anything in this world. Just set your mind to it. Anything is possible.” </div>
<div><br />
Interestingly, the <strong>Towards a Better Future’s</strong> impact extends beyond the participants to the program’s facilitators, who are female. Many were “brutally” challenged by the content and sessions on gender-based violence as they were personally living the same drama themselves. As a result, these women felt the need to take charge of their own lives and make changes for the better in their relationships, such as leaving abusive relationships, being more assertive in their relationships, and working to improve their relationships. <strong>Towards a Better Future</strong> gave them the courage to communicate how they felt to their partner – for some, it was the first time.</div>
Program:
Reproductive Health & HIV/AIDS
- Budget:
-
$0
- Category:
-
International, Foreign Affairs & National Security
- Population Served:
-
Females, all ages or age unspecified
-
Males, all ages or age unspecified
-
Poor/Economically Disadvantaged, Indigent, General
Program Description:
<div>Under the broader rubric of reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, CEDPA incorporates family planning, safe motherhood, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, as well as advocacy and training. Our programs have reached out to isolated, marginalized communities and have addressed the special health and social needs of women, men and youth. CEDPA has expanded community-level access to family planning information and commodities to ensure informed reproductive health decision making by women and their families. Our community mobilization strategies have empowered organizations to advocate for changes that would better respond to their needs. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>CEDPA’s current reproductive health and HIV/AIDS projects include</div>
<p>· Family Welfare/Kyautatawa Iyali: Access to Family Planning and Reproductive Health in Nigeria </p>
<p>· Safe Motherhood Project: Increased Momentum for Maternal Mortality Reduction in Nigeria</p>
<p>· Positive Living in Nigeria</p>
<p>· Integrated RCH and Infectious Diseases Initiative for Communities in Oil Field of Rajasthan, India</p>
<p>· Advocating & Ensuring Entitlements under Maternal Health Policies and Programs in India</p>
<p>· Maternal Child Health - Sustainable Technical Assistance and Research in India</p>
<p>· White Ribbon Alliance for Advocacy to Reduce Maternal Mortality and Morbidity in India and the state of Rajastan</p>
<p>· Catalyzing Political Commitment and Action for Maternal Health from Grassroots to Global Levels: A New Advocacy Model (India, Uganda and Yemen)</p>
<p>· South/Southeast Asia Initiative: Advancing Women’s Leadership in Global AIDS Policymaking (Washington, DC event/workshop)</p>
<p>· Health Policy Initiative</p>
<div>· Health Sector Development Program: Local Government Unit Systems Strengthening, Philippines<br /><br />· Accelerating Efforts to Save Mothers Lives through Task Shifting and Integrated Ambulatory Services in Nigeria <em>(pending)</em></div>
Program Long-Term Success:
<p><strong><u>Ensuring Access to Life Saving Reproductive Health (RH) and HIV/AIDS Information and Services</u></strong></p>
<p>CEDPA is committed to ensuring greater access to proven health information and services that save lives and build healthier families. CEDPA has been serving women and girls, providing family planning and reproductive health education and services for nearly 35 years. Over that period, though gains have been made in access to family planning, the state of sexual and reproductive health has remained a challenge in the developing world, especially South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. HIV/AIDS continues to devastate Africa and maternal mortality and morbidity rates have not improved, though we’ve known for decades how to make motherhood safer. To address these ongoing issues affecting women’s lives and wellbeing, CEDPA has developed a new strategy, aimed at linking family planning/reproductive health/maternal child health and HIV/AIDS at all levels, to create an enabling environment and provide comprehensive, integrated education and services to the women and girls that we serve. To address the disproportionate burden of ill health on women, CEDPA will continue to develop new and creative approaches that make comprehensive reproductive health services more accessible to women. CEDPA will continue to strengthen community-level support for gender-sensitive HIV/AIDS services, to alleviate the care-giving burden on women, and to involve men as active partners.</p>
Program Short-Term Success:
<p>CEDPA’s reproductive health and HIV programs seek to create an enabling environment by championing policies and social norms that support improved status for women and girls and give them control over their reproductive choices. Desired outcomes of our programs contribute to decreased HIV incidence, decreased unintended pregnancies, decreased abortions, increased access and uptake of reproductive health and HIV services, improved quality of care and increased comprehensive coverage of the most vulnerable groups, women, youth and marginalized groups.</p>
<p>CEDPA seeks to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS by involving their families and communities in HIV/AIDS prevention care and support initiatives. CEDPA has implemented successful HIV/AIDS strategies with orphans and vulnerable children, and worked with young people to build their understanding of high-risk sexual behaviors. CEDPA is mobilizing communities, faith-based organizations, and traditional leaders to provide HIV/AIDS information and services to targeted audiences. </p>
<p>CEDPA’s effort to improve the health and well-being of women, children, and families in the developing world has been accomplished through community involvement measures, strengthening service delivery, and designing policy responses which address maternal child health. CEDPA has developed a new strategy, aimed at linking family planning/reproductive health/maternal child health and HIV/AIDS at all levels, to create an enabling environment and provide comprehensive, integrated education and services to the women and girls that we serve.</p>
<p>CEDPA raises awareness about maternal health risks and mobilizes action to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for all women. CEDPA works with local institutions to mobilize community support for safe motherhood and advocate for lifesaving reproductive health care. </p>
<p>Our HIV/AIDS projects include partnerships with local leaders and faith-based organizations to promote HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment. CEDPA expands community-level access to family planning information and commodities to ensure informed reproductive health decision making by women and their families. CEDPA’s community mobilization strategies empower organizations to advocate for changes that would better respond to their needs. CEDPA’s programs reach out to isolated, marginalized communities and address the special health and social needs of women, men and youth. In <strong>India</strong>, for example, we are the convener of the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood India, providing technical assistance and leading advocacy and communications strategies. </p>
<p>Our global AIDS programs mobilize communities to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS and promote equal care and treatment for women and their families. In <strong>Nigeria</strong>, where faith communities are critical to the delivery of health services, CEDPA partners with community-based organizations, support groups of people living with HIV/AIDS and religious leaders to promote HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment, and reduce stigma against people living with AIDS. To counter Nigeria’s broken health infrastructure, CEDPA is strengthening the ability of families and communities to provide home-based care for people living with HIV and AIDS. In <strong>India’s Jharkhand State</strong>, CEDPA works with the government to add comprehensive life-skills curriculum into the existing AIDS education program for schoolchildren by providing technical assistance and training for master trainers and school teachers. Elsewhere, we have implemented successful strategies that protect orphans and vulnerable children, and elevated the importance of HIV/AIDS as a part of safe motherhood campaigns. </p>
<p>CEDPA is a partner on the Task Order 1 team under the <strong>USAID|Health Policy Initiative</strong> provides technical assistance and leads other activities to: improve health-related policy formulation, planning, and financing; strengthen government leadership and civil society participation in policy advocacy; encourage multi-sectoral coordination of health policies; and foster evidence-based decision-making at the country level. With a focus on <strong>policy dialogue</strong>, the Health Policy Initiative empowers new partners to participate in the health policymaking process. With an additional focus on <strong>policy implementation</strong>, the initiative helps countries and organizations translate policies, strategic plans and operational guidelines into effective health programs and services, especially for the poor and other underserved groups.</p>
Program Success Monitored by:
<p>CEDPA has developed a number of useful monitoring tools to improve the quality of care and service of our programs. CEDPA routinely conducts baseline and endline evaluations to determine outcomes and impact of programs and add to the global body of knowledge for reproductive health and HIV programming. CEDPA has also conducted operations research to examine the cost effectiveness and quality of our service delivery models, incorporating the results to improve our ongoing programs. All of our measurement activities contribute to the evidence base available not only for our own programs, but also for those being implemented by other agencies involved in integration efforts. </p>
<p>Program results are tracked/monitored through Quarterly Service Statistics Reports and narrative reports completed and submitted by country offices.</p>
Program Success Examples:
<div><u><strong>CEDPA's Most Recent Data Analysis (1/08 - 12/08)</strong>
<div></u>In 2008, CEDPA’s health programs were primarily community-based and implemented through local partners and volunteers. Community-based distributors counseled clients, distributed contraceptives, and provided referrals for clinical services. Behavior change communications and other outreach were used to educate, raise awareness, and increase demand for services. Lastly, CEDPA advocated elected officials and community leaders to improve the quality and availability of healthcare. </div></div>
<p>CEDPA’s field offices in India, Nepal and Nigeria implemented projects aimed at providing family planning, safe motherhood and HIV/AIDS care and prevention. CEDPA and its partners provided services for 2,896,266 (individuals served by Positive Living (2,582,846), Packard (290,156), India (12,821), and Nepal (10,443) individuals in this priority area. CEDPA distributed1,277,299 modern contraceptives, counseled 2,582,846 individuals on HIV/AIDS prevention, facilitated 1,228 safe births, and informed 17,907,719 individuals through behavior change communication activities.</p>
<p>Over the course of the year, CEDPA distributed modern contraceptives to 286,204 individuals (excludes the Positive Living project, for which the number of contraceptives was recorded but the number of clients was not); 89% of these commodities were male condoms. It should be noted that the number of condoms distributed increased drastically in the second quarter of 2008, when the Positive Living project disbursed 540,453 condoms. This influx represented 82% of that quarter’s disbursements. In addition to male condoms, CEDPA distributed birth control pills, Depo-Provera, Noristat, IUDs, Norplant as well as performing female sterilizations. Because of their permanent nature, female sterilizations contributed to 11% of the total couple years of protection, while only accounting for .0006% of the contraceptives distributed in the fourth quarter.</p>
<p>In <strong>Nepal</strong>, CEDPA worked with health facilities and community-based distribution networks in providing reproductive health services to 5,799 women and 4,644 men. </p>
<p>CEDPA implemented six projects working in the reproductive health and HIV/AIDS priority area in <strong>India</strong>. The scope of these projects included advocacy; distribution of contraceptives; education about entitlements and prevention; trainings; HIV/AIDS testing and counseling; and facilitating safe births. CEDPA provided a total of 12,821 women with safe motherhood information and/or services by project staff and/or volunteers. CEDPA helped eight hundred and twenty-six (826) women give birth under the care of a trained birth attendant and 402 gave birth in health facilities. Additionally, CEDPA managed to influence two policy changes regarding community-based health in the fourth quarter. </p>
<p>CEDPA worked on three major projects focusing on reproductive health and HIV/AIDS in <strong>Nigeria</strong>: the Packard Foundation-funded family planning initiative in Northern Nigeria; the USAID/PEPFAR-funded Positive Living project which provided services on prevention, palliative care for people living with HIV/AIDS, and orphans and vulnerable children; and the MacArthur Foundation-funded Maternal Mortality Reduction project, which promoted advocacy for safe motherhood. </p>
<p>CEDPA worked with 52 community-based partner non-government organizations to provide HIV/AIDS care, prevention and information. CEDPA trained 18,083 community-based health workers, people living with HIV/AIDS, peer educators, and volunteers to deliver quality, comprehensive community-based prevention, care and support services. CEDPA educated 1,833,815 individuals about HIV/AIDS prevention through outreach activities such as socio-dramas, group discussions, and classes. CEDPA provided 2,582,846 people living with HIV/AIDS and their families with counseling on prevention. Of these, CEDPA provided 72,446 individuals with palliative home-based care services (including medical, psychological, spiritual, and home-based services, and some livelihood opportunities), and 10,517 with home/community-based TB/HIV support and referral services. CEDPA provided 2,163 orphans and vulnerable children with support services such as food/nutrition, educational support, and economic strengthening (e.g., income generation activities). Additionally, CEDPA distributed 853,307 condoms and 91,195 birth-control pills, providing a total of 7,839 couple years of protection. </p>
<div>Recognizing that behavior is culturally determined and influenced by a large variety of factors, CEDPA works through local partner organizations to tailor messages for local contexts. CEDPA’s behavior change communication and outreach efforts use a variety of strategies, including one-on-one discussions between clients and service providers or trained volunteers, group discussions, large events, and the production and dissemination of mass media materials. <strong> </strong>In 2008, behavior change communication activities focused largely on changing sexual and reproductive health behaviors. The largest number of messages regarded reproductive health/HIV/AIDS issues, with 92% of these messages taking place in Nigeria. Reproductive health radio messages were estimated to have reached an additional 3,450,000 individuals.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Advocacy, whether at the local, state or national level, is integrated into the majority of CEDPA’s projects. Changes in policies, laws and resource allocation that result from advocacy efforts can create significant and enduring changes in the lives of women and girls beyond the life of a single project. In 2008, the largest number of advocacy visits was conducted in Nigeria by the Increased Momentum for Maternal Mortality Reduction project in the reproductive health/HIV/AIDS area, representing 86% of all outreach activities. CEDPA managed to influence four policy changes in northern Nigeria related to free maternal and child health services and health personnel training.</div><strong>
<div><br /><u>Examples/Testimonials of Behavior Change and Impact<br /></u>NIGERIA:<u> </u></strong>The “Increased Momentum for Maternal Mortality Reduction” project has focused most of its attention on advocacy efforts at the state level during its first year. Advocacy efforts have focused on ensuring that the policy makers are on board, policies in place, and resources committed to give way to smooth implementation and an environment that is supportive of community efforts to improve maternal and child health status in Kano and Borno states. The institutionalization of the White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria is a big success, and could be the beginning of consolidated efforts by community groups all over the country to speak with one voice, as well as raise money for community initiatives to improve maternal health. Overall, there are positive signs of improvement from the political community of both Kano and Borno. The governors or their wives are greatly involved and early commitments of resource allocations and support for bills for free maternal health services are underway.</div>
Program:
Gender & Governance
- Budget:
-
$0
- Category:
-
International, Foreign Affairs & National Security
- Population Served:
-
Females, all ages or age unspecified
-
Males, all ages or age unspecified
-
Poor/Economically Disadvantaged, Indigent, General
Program Description:
<div>Since its inception in 1975, CEDPA has increased women’s participation in governance through initiatives in civic engagement, advocacy, voting, and governance efforts to improve their quality of life. CEDPA is dedicated to ensuring women’s greater participation in local, national and global governance so that policies and resources reflect their needs and priorities. CEDPA’s work has evolved to match the global evidence that empowering women strengthens good governance and is essential for peace and prosperity. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Employing strategies in network-building, social mobilization, advocacy and leadership training, CEDPA partners with communities to register voters, raise women’s voices within peace efforts, mobilize advocates for better public policy and increase women’s political participation. CEDPA builds the leadership of strong women’s groups and other key civil society sector organizations, and provides advocacy skills training that gives women a greater voice in developing the political and economic agendas of their countries and communities. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>CEDPA's current gender and governance focused projects include</div>
<div><br />
<strong>- Nepal</strong>: WomenAct Network<br />
Nepal Government Citizenship Partnership Project</div>
<p><strong>- Kenya</strong>: Promoting Gender-Responsive and Inclusive Governance, and Promoting Women's Rights and Empowerment in Post-Conflict and Transitional Environments (League of Women Voters/Kenya and the Caucus for Women's Leadership; Women's Land Tenure Working Group) </p>
Program Long-Term Success:
<p><strong><u>Strengthening Women’s Access to and Influence on Governance Structures</u></strong></p>
<div>
<p>In countries emerging from conflict, there is a window of opportunity to ensure that women are involved in the process of creating new policy frameworks, institutional and governing structures, and new democratic cultures. This holds the potential that their issues and concerns are addressed at the earliest possible point.</p>
</div>
<div>CEDPA is dedicated to assuring women’s greater participation in governance as a step to building stronger societies. For 30 years, we have worked together with local organizations to support an equal role for women in their communities and nations. CEDPA’s programs raise awareness and provide women with the tools to build more just societies. <br />
<br />
CEDPA will continue to build the leadership of strong women’s groups and other key civil society sector organizations and provide advocacy skills training that will give women a greater voice in developing the political and economic agendas of their countries and communities. We will develop, support and test strategic tools and interventions in conflict transformation and peace-building, collaborating with and learning from a variety of partners and emerging leaders in the field in response to a strong mandate from our global partners. </div>
Program Short-Term Success:
Since 1995, CEDPA has managed projects to strengthen the ability of actors for civil society to hold their governments accountable for their issues, priorities and concerns. CEDPA partners with communities to register voters, raise women’s voices within peace efforts, mobilize advocates for better public policy and increase women’s political participation.
<p>In <strong>Kenya</strong>, CEDPA’s partnership with the Caucus for Women’s Leadership and the League of Women Voters-Kenya is currently focused on securing women’s land rights in the new constitution. CEDPA, the Caucus for Women’s Leadership and the League of Women Voters-Kenya is convening a Women’s Land Tenure Working Group that will meet with Ministry of Lands, local Land Boards and grassroots women’s groups throughout the country to muster support for provisions that ensure women’s secure land tenure in the new constitution. </p>
<p>In<strong> Nepal</strong>, CEDPA works with women’s groups to ensure that their voices are heard in the post-conflict reconstruction process and the new government to ensure it is being more responsive to issues of gender and social inclusion. In order to prepare women for what lies ahead, CEDPA conducted a post-conflict workshop series outlining the political processes that occur after conflict has ended, and ways women can engage in these processes to advance women's leadership. CEDPA brought in women experts in legal and constitutional issues from South Africa and Kenya to share their experiences in the constitutional drafting process in their countries with workshop participants. The workshops inspired participants to form the <strong>Women Acting Together for Transformative Change (WomenAct) </strong>network. The coalition includes over 36 women’s non-governmental organizations and networks that will work to ensure that women throughout Nepal can raise their voices, work together, and support each other in making the changes they want to see in their country. </p>
<p>For the past two years, WomenAct has played a vital role in ensuring women’s voices are heard in the peace process. WomenAct has claimed women’s rights in the constitution drafting process, the Constituent Assembly Secretariat, and the Civil Society Co-ordination Committee through the "Charter for Women: Ensuring Equality through Nepal's Constitution." WomenAct has advanced women’s human rights through the drafting of a series of provisions to ensure gender equality in the constitution and presenting these provisions to the Fundamental Rights Committee. WomenAct has engaged new numbers of women in the constitutional drafting process through a series of round table discussions and interaction programs with Constituent Assembly members, national experts, media, and civil society on topics of importance in drafting the new constitution, increasing the awareness and capacity of all stakeholders. </p>
<p>Providing outreach across the country, WomenAct leverages radio, a website and other public forums to improve women’s knowledge of the constitutional drafting process and encourage participation in the process. The network actively engages women activists, lawyers, and experts in various fields such as reproductive health, the media, and women’s access to justice, with the ultimate goal of amplifying women’s voice in the peace process and creating a just and equitable new Nepal. </p>
<p>In January 2009, CEDPA/Nepal and its partners began implementing the USAID funded <strong>Nepal Government Citizenship Partnership Project </strong>to “help the Government of Nepal immediately re-establish legitimate and effective security and governance in Nepal’s districts to combat the potential of a fractured Nepal.” CEDPA/Nepal’s project component makes local governance structures more responsive to gender and social inclusion considerations and ensures that all activities are conflict sensitive. Specifically, CEDPA/Nepal provides technical assistance in gender and social inclusion to local governments in the design and implementation of local government policies and systems for citizen participation and oversight. It also provides technical assistance in ensuring that women and previously disadvantaged groups benefit from community infrastructure rehabilitation activities and are productively integrated in peace initiatives at the local level.</p>
<p>Currently in its first phase, the Nepal Government Citizenship Partnership Project is developing a model in Morang district of the Eastern Terai. Ten Village Development Committees have been selected for local infrastructure projects where CEDPA/Nepal is designing the gender and social inclusion priorities based on local analysis and identified requirements at each site. A number of quick impact projects are also underway, where the gender and social inclusion and conflict sensitive lens for design, budgeting, implementation, and monitoring is being applied. Additionally, CEDPA/Nepal is formulating a collaboration framework with the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction and the Local Peace Committee, their district level body. </p>
Program Success Monitored by:
Program results are tracked/monitored through Quarterly Service Statistics Reports and narrative reports completed and submitted by country offices.
Program Success Examples:
<div><strong><u>CEDPA’s Most Recent Data Analysis (1/08 – 12/08)</u>
<div></strong>In 2008, CEDPA continued its work for gender equality and democratic strengthening through a civic education program in Egypt that has reached over 1,300 people. CEDPA’s sole project focusing primarily on gender and governance in 2008 was the “Enabling Young People’s Civic Participation” project for young women and men in Egypt. This project addressed a wide range of themes, including voter education, political participation, human rights, gender and peace building. Because the project ended early in the year, only 12 civic participation sessions serving 139 youth were held. Fifty-one percent (n = 59) of the youth in these sessions were girls.</div>
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<div><strong><u>Examples/Testimonials of Behavior Change and Impact</u>
<div></strong><strong>NEPAL: </strong>The Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction, established in April 2007 by the Government of Nepal, was charged with supporting reconstruction of physical infrastructure damaged during the conflict, managing relief, and helping with rehabilitation of conflict victims. Recognizing that addressing unequal gender relations and empowering women is essential for peace-building, the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction and CEDPA/Nepal initiated a process to enhance the Government of Nepal’s capacity to respond to key issues and concerns for women in post-conflict situations and to integrate gender into post-conflict programming in accordance with inclusion priorities and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. In December 2007, CEDPA/Nepal led the training in <em>Gender and Social Inclusion in Post Conflict Reconstruction</em> for the entire Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction staff, and Gender Focal Points and Peace Focal Points of all government ministries. </div>
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<div>More than 20 young Nepali women joined CEDPA/Nepal in mid-2007 for a workshop entitled <em>What to Expect in Peace and Transition</em>. The workshop outlined the political processes that occur after conflict has ended and ways women can engage in these processes to advance women's leadership. In follow up to the <em>What to Expect</em> workshop, CEDPA convened its <em>Women and the Constitution</em> workshop in February 2008. The workshop brought feminist legal and constitutional experts from South Africa and Kenya to share their respective experiences in the constitutional drafting process. The workshop inspired participants to form the Women Acting Together for Transformative Change (WomenAct) network to draft a Woman’s Charter for inclusion in political parties’ manifestos and in the new constitution. Today, the WomenAct network includes thirty-six diverse non-govermental organizations and networks representing gender, human rights and women’s health, ending human trafficking and violence against women, migrant women workers, media, small businesses, forest user groups, Dalit women, and women from ethnic and religious minority groups. </div>
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<p>At the request of the press and women constituent assembly members, CEDPA/WomenAct has conducted a one-day session on gender equality with discussions on the articles outlined in the charter. Through media outreach such as radio programs, WomenAct encourages women from every part of the country to participate in the process. In addition, the WomenAct web site was launched to serve as an organizing tool for women’s advocacy in the constitution-making process. </p>
<div><strong>NIGERIA: </strong>CEDPA has spearheaded initiatives to engage civil society organizations and leaders in promoting electoral and constitutional reform, advocating for greater transparency and accountability in government, and averting and managing conflicts among interest groups. CEDPA has worked to mobilize women voters in every Nigerian election since the restoration of democracy there in 1999. During the 2003 elections, CEDPA managed the deployment of 4,600 monitors in 19 of Nigeria’s 36 states; this was the largest election monitoring effort involving women and Muslims in Nigeria’s history. </div>
<p>In 2007, CEDPA/Nigeria mobilized women voters to increase their turnout in the April elections and help put women’s concerns on the election agenda by holding a Women’s Summit in Maiduguri, Borno State to advance women’s participation. The Summit brought together government officials, women leaders, grassroots groups with broad community reach, and key religious leaders from the Christian and Muslim faiths. Following the Summit, CEDPA led strategies to mobilize women voters through partnerships with community activists and women’s organizations building on the work in the 1999 and 2003 Nigerian elections. </p>
<div><strong>KENYA: </strong>CEDPA, together with the Women’s Political Alliance-Kenya, the Caucus for Women’s Leadership and the League of Women Voters-Kenya, sought to ensure that female political candidates and aspirants could be readily identified by political parties prior to the 2007 elections. To this end, the four groups joined forces to compile an up-to-date and easy to use database of all female political candidates and aspirants. The database included political profiles of all aspirants, mapping and demographic characteristics that could be used to identify any obstacles in the candidates’ districts. </div>
<p>CEDPA continued its partnership with the Caucus for Women’s Leadership and the League of Women Voters-Kenya on an initiative to address gender-based election violence. The initiative trained monitoring agents to identify and report incidences of gender-based election violence; trained female candidates and aspirants on issues of election security; and developed information, education and communication materials to raise awareness of gender-based electoral violence and the means to avoid it. </p>
Program:
Capacity Building & Leadership
- Budget:
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$0
- Category:
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International, Foreign Affairs & National Security
- Population Served:
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Females, all ages or age unspecified
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Males, all ages or age unspecified
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Poor/Economically Disadvantaged, Indigent, General
Program Description:
<div>CEPDA believes women can change the world. To that end, CEDPA sponsors training workshops to harness the energy and experience of women, men and youth from around the developing world who share our faith in the power of women.</div>
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<div>CEDPA's global training programs are <strong><em>WomenLead, </em></strong>our<strong><em> </em></strong>flagship training series program;<strong><em> Global Women in Management (GWIM),</em></strong> our longest running training program;<strong><em> </em></strong><em><strong>Advancing Women's Leadership and Advocacy for HIV/AIDS Action</strong> I<strong>nitiative;</strong></em> and the CEDPA/Seeds of Peace <strong><em>"Women's Leadership for Greater Economic Participation."</em> </strong> </div>
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<div>For more than 30 years, CEDPA has trained developing-country women - and committed men and young people - to advance international development and change the social and political context that impedes opportunity for women and girls. CEDPA has trained more than 5,000 women and men from Albania to Zambia. CEDPA's alumni have gone on to become vice presidents, ministers and parliamentarians in their nations.</div>
Program Long-Term Success:
<div><strong><u>Strengthening and Expanding Women's Leadership</u></strong></div>
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<div>Worldwide, CEDPA seeks to strengthen women's leadership skills through its global training programs for participants from developing countries. CEDPA creates a supportive and participatory learning environment for exchange of best practices and experiences, exposure to cutting edge technical and programmatic information, and enhanced leadership and management skill building. These workshops bring together women from diverse cultures, coutries and regions to share, examine and adapt best practices worldwide to meet the needs of their own communities and countries.</div>
Program Short-Term Success:
<div>Designed to reinvigorate family planning and reproductive health programs, funding and policies, <em><strong>WomenLead</strong> </em>builds leadership abilities, technical expertise and program management skills on a range of critical issues. The <strong><em>WomenLead</em></strong> program provides women leaders with a forum for exchange of best practices and lessons learned, as well as technical updates and skill building sessions. As a result, participants are expected to gain the skills and tools to assume greater leadership in advocating for effective reproductive health policies, programs, and increased funding streams in their countries. The program also will allow them to reinvigorate their health sectors with effective reproductive health services, and design and implement integrated service delivery models that reflect best practices.</div>
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<div>Bringing together women from diverse cultures, countries and regions to share, examine and adapt best practices worldwide to meet the needs of their own communities and countries, <strong><em>Global Women in Management (GWIM) </em></strong> responds to today's development context by providing rigorous leadership and management training that builds women's skills to run successful organizations.</div>
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<div><strong><em>Advancing Women's Leadership and Advocacy for HIV/AIDS Action</em></strong> is an initiative to equip and empower a cadre of women from around the world with the knowledge and skills to strengthen and lead the global response to AIDS.</div>
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<div>To create greater economic opportunities for women in the Middle East, CEDPA has partnered with Seeds of Peace to pilot the new <em><strong>Women’s Leadership for Greater Economic Participation</strong></em> program for 15 young women from Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Palestine. The economic training program has three phases. The first phase's week-long workshop increases participants' knowledge and skills, and provides a greater understanding of the value of women’s economic empowerment and participation; it addresses the challenges these young women face in participating in the formal economy in their respective countries. As emerging women leaders, they also examine the importance of being role models for the women that follow them. The workshop includes sessions on how to advocate and mobilize communities to overcome barriers for women within their societies. At the end of the workshop, the young women develop individual action plans to partner with local community organizations working on women’s economic empowerment. </div>
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<p>In the coming months, whether the country teams are working as a group or individually, participants from each country meet monthly to support each other on their projects, trouble-shoot and lend a hand where needed. Each team will be guided by an in-country CEDPA-assigned coach, who will help the teams meet their goals. </p>
<p>For eight days at the end of the year, participants reconvene for the final phase at CEDPA’s Washington, D.C. headquarters to share their successes and any challenges they faced in implementing their plans. Sessions focus on advancing the skills they had put into practice during their individual projects, and give the young women the opportunity to meet with international organizations working with women on economic participation. </p>
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Program Success Monitored by:
<div>Program results are measured through post-workshop evaluations, follow-up surveys, and ongoing communication with our alumni. Program results are tracked/monitored through Quarterly Service Statistics Reports and narrative reports completed and submitted by country offices.</div>
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Program Success Examples:
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<div><strong><u>CEDPA's Most Recent Data Analysis (1/08 - 12/08)</u></strong></div>
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<div>In 2008, CEDPA conducted six leadership and capacity building workshops, including three <strong><em>Global Women in Management </em></strong>workshops (Mexico, Nigeria, and Washington, DC), two <strong><em>Women's Leadership in HIV/AIDS</em></strong> workshops in Nigeria and Kenya, and a <strong>coaching</strong> workshop in Washington, DC.</div>
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<p>In all, 151 women from 26 countries attended CEDPA’s capacity building and leadership workshops in 2008. The largest number of participants was from Africa (68%), followed by Latin America (15%), the Middle East/North Africa (9%), and Asia (8%). The Capacity Building team also completed four year-long coaching programs. </p>
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<div>The <em><strong>Global Women in Management</strong> </em>workshops brought together 79 mid-career women from non-govermental organizations, community-based organizations, and faith-based organizations involved in various development activities. The workshops helped these professional managers improve their skills and knowledge in a variety of areas including project planning and design, coaching, gender and governance, contextual analysis, leadership, management, strategic communications, and advocacy. </div>
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<div>The two <strong><em>Women’s Leadership in HIV/AIDS</em></strong> workshops helped equip women leaders with skills to better advocate for effective HIV/AIDS policies, increase funding for their organizations, and provide high quality, gender sensitive, community-based HIV/AIDS programs and services. A total of 47 women took part in these workshops. </div>
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<div>The <strong>coaching </strong>workshop helped CEDPA and its partners to strengthen their leadership and management skills by facilitating communication between coaches and CEDPA alumnae on a monthly basis. A total of 25 women participated in this workshop. </div>
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<div><strong><u>Examples/Testimonials of Behavior Change and Impact<br />
</u></strong>Historical results show that most graduates link the new confidence and skills gained during the <strong><em>Global Women in Management </em></strong>workshops to strengthened management capacity and often career advancements. For example, a 2005 training alumna reported: “I was promoted…I now have the chance to make decisions. Before CEDPA, I was timid in voicing my opinions, but now, with the measurable successes I have achieved as a result of CEDPA’s training and materials, I have found the courage to advance and the maturity to accept when I am wrong.” Participants also have reported that the training has enabled them to secure additional resources for their local organizations, strengthening these institutions to reach even more people within their communities. For example, a participant from Papua New Guinea secured over three million PNG Kina (over one million USD) in 2007 with new skills learned from the fundraising session. </div>
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<div>In addition to strengthening individual women leaders and their institutions, the <strong><em>Global Women in Management </em></strong>program has had ripple effects throughout the communities where alumni work. Many alumni have reinvested the skills they gained in the workshop through trainings for others within their community, targeting program beneficiaries and staff at other community organizations with trainings to improve advocacy, communications and leadership skills. With enhanced skills and strengthened programs, alumni have improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people through their work in education, health, the environment and other sectors. </div>
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<div>Grace, a recent <em><strong>WomenLead in Repositioning Family Planning and Reproductive Health</strong></em> workshop participant (Sep 2009) looks forward to implementing a number of lessons that she learned during the workshop. “The training will help me integrate family planning and reproductive health care into other services such as HIV/AIDS care and treatment…to better answer the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS,” she says. The cross-cultural learning has also been invaluable, she says. “I’ve learned a lot from other country’s experiences,” she says. In particular, “Pakistan and India have a very strong community family planning program and I’m learning from them about the kind of training they provided to local health volunteers and how they were able to scale it up." </div>
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