ADRA Reaches Thousands with Family Planning in Nepal

ADRA Concludes Successful Family Planning Project in Nepal

ADRA has marked the end of their Technical Integration for Coverage and Access (TICA) project in Nepal, but are already making plans to use results from the successful project for future project planning.

This project was supported by the United States for International Development (USAID) through the Advancing Partners & Communities (APC) program, was a two-year family planning (FP) project. TICA was an innovative project, with FP activities integrated into DEEP, an ADRA Nepal economic growth project. ADRA implemented the two-year TICA project in Palpa, Rupandehi, and Kapilvastu.

TICA’s goal was to increase demand for and access to FP services in response to high unmet need in the targeted areas and the Government of Nepal’s priorities. TICA specifically focused on: increased knowledge and interest; improved access to services; and improved quality of services and education.

To increase knowledge and interest in FP, TICA worked with youth and adolescents; women’s groups; men’s groups; and community sessions. Through 100 peer educators, TICA delivered training on FP, adolescent sexual and reproductive health, and gender discrimination to 3,682 young people. 4,192 women were trained through 60 DEEP entrepreneurial groups, with the theme of “managed and planned family size, happy and prosperous family life”. TICA also trained 34 men’s groups. Lastly, TICA delivered engaging community sessions, such as street dramas and market information corners.

Improved access to FP services was achieved through 15 mobile FP camps coordinated by TICA, community cooperatives (from the DEEP program), and the District Health offices. The camps provided a comprehensive suite of FP services. The camps served a total of 1,744 men, women, and youth. 97% of camp clients reported being satisfied with the services they received, from counseling and information services to clinical services.

Improved quality of FP involved training of health service providers in five modern FP methods as well as comprehensive counseling. A key factor was ADRA’s close collaboration with the District Health Offices, especially for supervision visits.

The final project data shows the positive impact of the integrated project in the community in increasing interest in, demand for, and access to family planning services. ADRA extends its thanks to the community volunteers and project staff who delivered this successful program. Our thanks also goes to USAID and APC for their support and the collective efforts of ADRA, the Ministry of Health, District Health Offices and other national, regional and district stakeholders.

Joseu Orellana, ADRA Nepal Country Director, says “ADRA Nepal is very excited about what TICA achieved in terms of knowledge and interest about family planning, access to services, quality of care, and especially the integration with a a program such as DEEP. We look forward to taking our learning from TICA to develop new projects and continue to play an active role in Nepal’s health sector.”

About ADRA

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) International is the humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Its work empowers communities and changes lives around the globe by providing sustainable community development and disaster relief. For more information, visit ADRA.org.

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