Working with Faith-Based Organizations on Family Planning and Reproductive Health

International Family Planning: Christian Actions and Attitudes—A Survey of CCIH Member Organizations. 2008.Christian Connections for International Health (CCIH), USAID and Institute for Reproductive Health. [Link to survey] For a summary of the survey, click here. Also under “CCIH Publications”.

Faith-Based Models for Improving Maternal and Newborn Health. 2007. Sarla Chand and Jacqui Patterson. IMA World Health & USAID/ACCESS.

Advancing Reproductive Health and Family Planning through Religious Leaders and Faith-Based Organizations. 2006. Mary K. Burket. Pathfinder International. By helping religious leaders see the links between reproductive health and families’ wellbeing, Pathfinder enables them to become committed advocates for positive reform. Because they hold the trust of their congregations, the healthy behaviors they promote are more readily accepted.

Culture Matters – Working with Communities and Faith-Based Organizations: Case Studies from Country Programmes. 2000/2004. UNFPA. Collaboration and partnerships between UNFPA and local power structures and institutions, including traditional leaders and faith-based and religious organizations often perceived as the community’s custodians of culture, have proved instrumental in neutralizing resistance and creating local ownership of the ICPD Programme of Action. These organizations have large numbers of constituents in public posts, including political leaders, policy makers, civil servants, academicians and media specialists who are involved daily in determining social and economic priorities, allocating resources and influencing public opinion. In addition, religious organizations have large networks of schools, health clinics and income-generating activities that reach villages and towns. In countries where partnerships with these structures and institutions were formed, UNFPA was able to mainstream reproductive health concerns and services into many of these networks.

Working from Within: Culturally Sensitive Approaches in UNFPA Programming. 2004. UNFPA. The nine case studies presented in this brochure are drawn from a longer UNFPA report entitled, "Culture Matters: Working with Communities and Faith-based Organizations". It highlights the necessity of mainstreaming cultural analysis and sensitivity in development efforts addressing issues such as gender equality and equity, HIV/AIDS, female genital cutting, gender-based violence and reproductive health.

ACQUIRE Program Model. The goal of the ACQUIRE Project was to increase the use of reproductive health (RH) and family planning (FP) services, with a focus on facility-based services and clinical contraception, particularly long-acting and permanent methods of contraception (LAPMs).

Partnerships with Faith-Based Organizations to Expand Access to Family Planning. 2009. Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH). IRH provides training and other assistance to FBOs seeking to expand the family planning options they currently offer to include fertility awareness-based methods or to integrate family planning into their services for the first time. Read about the details of these partnerships in the DRC, Honduras, India, Kenya, Mali, Rwanda and Timor-Leste. [Add link]

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 14 December 2010 15:53 )