The sexual reproductive health and rights of women and adolescent girls sit at the heart of CARA’s strategic plan. Every year, the organization engages school children aged 13 years and above and rural women to provide training on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights.
Background on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)
Women of reproductive age across the globe have faced the challenge of sexual reproductive health and rights such as Gender-based violence, lack of education and information, high rates of early and unwanted pregnancy, and lack of access to health services; especially for contraception and safe abortion; gender inequalities and harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and child, early and forced marriage; and risk of STIs (including HIV/AIDS) which in many cases are linked to societal norms and stigma around sexuality as root causes (WHO, 2024).
This results in shame, stigma, and silence, thus hindering open communication and access to care. These circumstances are more often peculiar to rural areas where gender inequality is grossly engrafted in their religion, beliefs, traditions, norms, sets, and generally, culture. Gender inequality not only denies a woman the right to a satisfying sexual life but stands as a major roadblock to most women from living a fulfilled life. All of these consequences faced by these women are usually very devastating.
On the contrary, to have sound Sexual Reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for all women, everywhere and at all times, it requires that all women have the power to make informed decisions about their bodies, sexual life, and overall well-being. These include: Having a satisfying sex life and the ability to have children if/as one desires to, choosing if and when one wants to have children, having access to contraception and safe abortion services, having access to healthcare professionals who can answer your questions and provide essential services like prenatal care and STI testing.
Contrastingly, women contend with the problem of poor access to family planning options, septic/unsafe abortions, maternal morbidity and mortality, inadequate access to sex education, the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and inadequate access to testing facilities and care, inadequate access to menstrual hygiene kits and wares, gender inequality and disempowerment, poor preventive and response approaches and strategies to gender-based violence cases and/or perpetrators, discrimination and stigmatization, limited access to health services and facilities which are a leading cause of gender-based violence, unintended pregnancies, childbirth complication and child mortality.
Overview of CARA’s SRHR Intervention
The SRHR interventions of local NGOs in partnership with International NGOs and the government in Nigeria have recorded positive impacts on these issues through awareness, advocacy, and campaigns, leading to increased use of menstrual kits, and hygiene practices amongst women mostly in the urban areas. There is still, however, inequitable access to services, inadequate efforts to address cultural resistance, and poor funding to sustainably support the SRHR of women, especially the vulnerable ones in hard-to-reach and socially excluded areas. These challenges continue to embattle and demean the potential impact of ongoing and concluded interventions on SRHR.
Hence, our engagement or intervention has the training components for adolescent girls, which include but are not limited to menstrual health and hygiene, life skills development, Self-awareness and Personal hygiene. Also, Women in rural communities are trained on enhanced safe motherhood during pregnancy, abortion, and menstruation, especially when there are complications.
This activity aims to reduce the number of women and girls who die from childbirth complications, abortion, unwanted and underage pregnancies, and other issues of reproductive health. This year, CARA will engage 500 women and 500 adolescent girls on remarkable days of the year for this event. The core beneficiaries are women and girls, with priority for those in hard-to-reach areas.
Our Accomplishments on SRHR
To address overarching challenges in maternal mortality and morbidity, reduce incidences of STIs/HIV/AIDS and adolescent pregnancy, and achieve gender equality and social inclusion to empower all women and girls, vulnerable people, CARA has trained 1000+ in-school adolescents and youths in school clusters on life skills and information on their reproductive health and rights, and also engaged them in learning livelihood skills to increase their purchasing power to access available health services on the sexual reproductive health.
Also, CARA has partnered with Karis and Eleos Hand of Hope Foundation with the support of the Coca-Cola Foundation to empower 250 women on Basic management and practical skills in confectionery making, cleaning agents production, paint making, tie and dye, and bead making across the 27 LGA in Imo State while providing start-up materials for 25 high performing participants in the training. We have also provided learning opportunities and dialogue sessions for women to address issues of Female Genital Mutilation across Imo State where communities committed to ending FGM.
CARA’s partnership with other CSOs in Imo State was also instrumental in the advocacy effort that resulted in the passage of the Imo State Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law and the government signing on to the Open Government Partnership (OGP). Through training and capacity-building sessions made available by CARA, the knowledge, attitude, and practices of 4000 women of reproductive ages on safe motherhood and access to safe motherhood services in 80 rural communities in Imo State were significantly improved.
This year 2024, CARA, on Valentine’s Day trained 492 in-school adolescents on life skills and sexual reproductive health and rights, to foster a deeper understanding of the issues of SRHR. CARA is also stirring the leadership boat of a network of NGOs on Menstrual Health and Hygiene in Imo State the first of its kind in Imo State Nigeria, which has provided menstrual hygiene skills and information to 274 persons including 13 religious groups, 69 women (63 young females and 2 young males, 4 adult females) across 2 communities, 110 students across 2 different schools (51 females, 59 males), 25 PWDs (5 young females, 16 adult females and 4 adult males), and 57 members of the Peer Educators Group (37 females and 20 males). During these events, reusable sanitary pads were introduced as a means to increase access to quality menstrual health kits.
Further Actions on SRHR Training
CARA continues to increase demand and access to safe motherhood programs to reduce poverty, maternal mortality and morbidity, strives to achieve gender equality and reduce incidences of STIs/HIV/AIDS and adolescent pregnancy. And to promote comprehensive sexuality education and empower individuals to manage their own SRHR, address cultural and social barriers that prevent people from accessing SRHR services, and ensure SRHR information and services reach people with disabilities, adolescents, and those in rural areas.