Editorial

Hello All!

As the summer heat retreats and the seasonal transition kicks in with unexpected surprises of cloudy mornings, sunlit afternoons or a chilly night; we look forth at all that happened in the passing month and all that we plan for the one ahead.

Post-disaster relief efforts are still in full-fledged phase with both the public and private sectors working for the rehabilitation of the flood affected areas and people. Past the basic necessities, the real gravity at hand is construction, infrastructure and rebuilding for the future and most effort is now being directed towards these predicaments. Country Representative, WPF also deeming field visits necessary before devising any rehabilitation strategy from the organization went to: Dera Ghazi Khan, Kashmore, Muzaffargarh and Shikarpur, to gauge the need of the people at hand.

Parallel to relief efforts in Pakistan, globally the Millennium Development Goal Summit took place in New York from 22nd September to 25th September 2010. The primary objective of the summit was to accelerate the progress towards the MDGs by 2015, taking into account the progress made towards the internationally agreed development goals. The summit undertook a comprehensive review of successes, best practices and lessons-learned, obstacles and gaps, challenges and opportunities, thereby deriving concrete strategies for action. The summit tagline “end poverty by 2015” and all its other aims shows just how important this summit was for Pakistan, since 32-45 percent of our population is living below poverty line. That makes around 51 to 72 million people!

The past month was a flurry of activity at WPF, Pakistan with much of the staff at field; conducting ToMT’s in Sanghar, carrying out evaluation of LSBE in Peshawar, CSBR in Indonesia, and at office; collaborating with other partners to implement LSBE in Vehari, launching a Blog Post, formulating the “Preventable Maternal Mortality and Morbidity and Human Rights” and much more.

Happy Reading!

Rights-driven Institutionalization of Sexual and Reproductive Health in Pakistan-Hamara Kal

Training of Master Trainers on SRHR Education

As one of the project component, to institutionalize SRHR education in schools in three targeted district of the project, a 5 days Training of Master Trainers was organized by WPF in Karachi where 32 Master trainers from Multan, Mitiari and Karachi attended the training from 28th September to 2nd October 2010. The training was facilitated by the collaboration with WPF and its implementing partners. The objective of the training was to train master trainers on sexual and reproductive health and rights curriculum. The contents of the training included human rights and SRHR rights of young people, what is life skill approach to education, gender, violence, self awareness, values, decision making skills, health and its importance, young people and risk taking, communication on sensitive issues. The training was designed to be highly interactive by employing a variety of training methodologies i.e. role plays, case studies, plenary discussions, group work, lecture style inputs and presentations to respond to differing learning styles and to facilitate maximum learning. The training was assisted by Program Manager SRHRE, WPF and experienced trainers from Aahung. During the training, the participants had an exchange visit to HANDS to understand their programs and progress of ‘Hamara Kal’ in Matiari district.

Empowering Girls – Transforming Communities

Training of Master Trainers, Sanghar

During the last two months the Life Skills Education curriculum (Training Manual & Students Workbook) for the project Empowering Girls- Transforming Communities were in the process of development. In September the development process was completed and subsequent training of Master Trainers was duly planned. The first training of Master Trainers was held in the project district, Sanghar from the 23rd to 26th September 2010, with the support of WPF’s implementing partner SAFWCO. Through a well defined process the implementing partners selected eight dedicated individuals who went through the training on Life Skills Education. Additionally, the project staff from the district was also trained. The main objective of this training was to build the capacity and understanding of the individuals on basic life skills, leadership, SRHR, health and education and their impact on adolescent girls. DCO Sanghar, Mr. Syed Asif Hyder Shah, and EDO Education, Mr.Mohmmad Hussain Khaskheli also visited the training session and were briefed on the project and its strategy. They commented on the project; praising and encouraging the commitment of the Master Trainers & the two organizations. Both graciously extended their full support for this project.

Accordingly, in the month of October, selected and willing Master Trainers will in turn train teachers of selected schools. The training of Master Trainers in the other project district, Gujranwala with the support of implementing partner, Bargad is scheduled for 11th of this month.

Packard Foundation Annual Grantee Meeting, 30th September 2010

The Packard Foundation Annual Grantee Meeting was held on 30th September 2010 in Karachi. This time around Packard Foundations international team; headed by Director, Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro, and Head of Legal Matters, Marry Anne Rodgers were also part of this significant meeting. Besides them Mr. Ijaz Munir, Secretary, Population Welfare Department-Punjab and all other Grantees in Pakistan were part of this meeting. Dr. Yasmeen Qazi facilitated the proceedings of meeting. The daylong meeting was well structured and provided an opportunity to the Packard Foundation and Grantees to share details on the kind of work that is being done and ought to be done with regards to Family Planning and Reproductive Health and updated each other on the global shift in views. Much of the meeting was spent on the post flood situation and how it will impact the work in the field. Grantees shared their approach and showed appreciation for coordination and leadership provided by the Population Welfare Department-Punjab.

TIn this milieu, Reproductive Health strategies in post flood situation were highlighted by the Grantees. Another interesting aspect of the meeting was the findings of Unsafe Abortion Costing study. Mr. Qaiser Bengali and the Grantees provided their constructive comments on the research. The meeting provided a platform for Packard Foundation and its Grantees to get acquainted with each other’s work and build on the best practices to improve the RH indicators in Pakistan. It is imperative to applaud the Foundations interest and high commitment to Pakistan!

Collaboration with Plan, Pakistan to upscale LSBE

WPF and Plan Pakistan are collaborating to implement Life Skills Based Education Program in Public Schools of Vehari. In this regard, a meeting was held with the Program Unit Vehari of Plan Pakistan to discuss and strategize the implementation. Dr. Irfan Ahmed was present at the meeting in the behalf of Plan, Pakistan while Mr. Khalid Pervez, Programme Unit Management Vehari and his team attended the session with Heads of WPF and Awaz Foundation.

Country Representative, WPF Pakistan and CEO Awaz Foundation had a meeting with the Executive District Officer (Education) –Vehari Mr. Yousuf Athar, to brief him on the LSBE project and its outcomes. EDO supported the idea of up-scaling LSBE in Vehari and copiously appreciated the involvement of teachers and school heads throughout the process, to create ownership of the program within school community. This support will help avoid any undue resistance that might prop up. He also suggested the inclusion of sensitive materials/issues of young people in the training of master trainers and teachers instead of in the printed workbooks for young students. CEO Awaz Foundation, informed that completion of the current phase of program pending due to floods and summer holidays will be completed within next two months.

Concluding Safe Motherhood Campaign

The Safe Motherhood Campaign planned to be concluded by Aug 2010; was extended due to the tragic floods that hit Pakistan recently. Policy Advocacy team has yet again geared up its efforts to wrap up the campaign by end of October with the official submission of “Preventable Maternal Mortality and Morbidity and Human Rights” resolution in one of the provincial assemblies. In this milieu the members of the Provincial Assembly, Baluchistan want to take a lead among provinces in giving full recognition to the significance of this MMR resolution. This is especially noteworthy, in the backdrop of Balochistan’s pitiable maternal death statistics. Taking lead in this cause, Dr.Ruqaiya Hashmi (MPA/MNA Balochistan) is keen on presenting the resolution in the coming session of the Balochistan Assembly; hoping for a unanimous adaptation by the Assembly.

Moreover Chief Minister Baluchistan will be requested to beckon the rest of the Provincial Assemblies: Punjab, Sindh & Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa to adopt a resolution akin to it, thus taking the lead and motivating the rest to support this cause. The unanimous adoption of the resolution will serve as a milestone laid by the province of Baluchistan towards MDG 5 (improved maternal health) in Pakistan. The resolution will demand concrete policy reforms to ensure that none of the women die due to largely preventable causes of maternal mortality and that every woman gets easy access to basic medical facilities bearing in mind that this is her basic human right.

Evaluating the impact of Life Skills Based Education (LSBE)

The Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation department of WPF is carrying out an evaluation study for its flagship project i.e. Life Skills Based Education in Formal school systems in five districts including Peshawar, Faisalabad, Matiari, Quetta and Vehari, covering the period 2006-2010. The evaluation aims to assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of LSBE project. The study involves an in-depth analysis of the design, implementation, and sustainability.

This is an important evaluative study as it will gauge the best practices and mark out the loopholes of the project, thus aid devising future strategies and designs. Furthermore, the findings of the study will help government relevant functionaries in developing a plan of action for LSBE implementation, is part of the education policy document after the successful advocacy efforts of WPF as part of the different national and international networks. A video documentary is also being filmed that will try to document the impact of the project on students, teachers, school administration and district education department in a holistic manner. This is a crucial part of the evaluation process as it helps to determine the reflections of the project and incorporate these in further designing and implementation of projects.

The KM team launched the much awaited LSBE-portal this month, by the name of “Grey Matters”. The portal is a combination of interactive pages for Bloggers, informative and thoughtful about issues that concern young women and children, links to forums where you can take part and much more. The basic objective of developing this portal is to provide a platform for the youth to direct their potent energies in productive ways and channel it in a way that would make our society better. Everyone is encouraged to become a member, to contribute articles that they have written, to be part of the blog discussions; so that we can all learn from each other and do something tangible to make a difference instead of voicing out rhetoric and leaving it at that.

CSBR Sexuality Institute 2010, Indonesia

Nazoora Ali, Programme Manager Policy Advocacy participated at the CSBR Sexuality Institute 2010 held in Jakarta, Indonesia from September 18th and 25th 2010. The Institute was designed to advance participants’ knowledge, understanding and advocacy skills for sexual, reproductive and bodily health and rights, while strengthening their theoretical background and analysis of sexuality in Muslim societies and introducing CSBR’s holistic and affirmative discourse on sexuality. The objectives of the CSBR Sexuality Institute were:

• To develop a deeper theoretical understanding of sexuality through a historical overview and analysis of current issues and debates at the global level
• To provide a comprehensive and holistic understanding of sexuality in Muslim societies through a discussion of the history, legal frameworks, current discourses and issues
• To enhance participants’ sexual rights advocacy skills on national and international levels
• To increase participants’ capacity as leading advocates, practitioners and researchers on sexuality issues at national, regional and international levels

Sexuality under 18

The Country Representative WPF, Pakistan and other staff members are currently in Netherlands; for two back to back conferences: “Sexuality under 18” and “World Starts with Me”.

The “Sexuality under 18” conference will confer about basis of best practices and research findings, and how to overcome challenges in promoting Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) for young people under the age of 18. It comprises of interactive workshops and a wide array of discussion rounds with diverse participants.

The “World Starts With Me” is a web based comprehensive sexuality education on IT and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for young people. It aims to contribute not only to the improvement of the sexual and reproductive health of young people, but also to their social and economic development.

New Staff Member

Syeda Ayesha Ali joined WPF, Pakistan this month as Manager PM&E. She recently graduated from the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University as a Fulbright Grantee. She did her Master’s in Public Health (MPH) with a concentration in Reproductive and Family Health, specializing in program development, management, and evaluation. In the United States, Ayesha was involved in two short term assignments related to Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH) and Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) with Population Council (New York) and Planned Parenthood of New York City (New York) respectively, which she undertook during her studies. Prior to that, she was working in the field of public health in Pakistan for five years at renowned organizations.

The three day high level meeting of world leaders to reflect all that has been achieved and that is left of the Millennium Development Goals was conducted in New York this September. The focal objective of the MDG summit was to accelerate the progress of the MDG’s, so as to fulfill all the promises made by 2015. The summit undertook a comprehensive overview of the successes, model examples derived, best practices developed, loopholes discovered, mistakes made and challenges faced; a holistic analysis of the development to present so as to incorporate these in a manner that would step up and make the goals achievable within due time.

This summit holds particular significance for our country, since more than fifty million of our population is living below the poverty line at present! To add insult to injury, it was also presented in a summary document prepared by the Government of Pakistan at the summit that none of the MDG’s is expected to be achieved by 2015 – which is the final year for the completion of the Millennium Development Goals. Although none of MDGs is near realization nor any worthy progress has been made in either, yet the ones that has been overlooked the most are MDG 3 (promote gender equality and empower women) and MDG 5 (reducing maternal deaths).

An in-depth analysis of the Pakistan Millennium Development Goal Report (MDGR) that was drafted by the government of Pakistan in its defense at the summit confirms that we are lagging way behind the finish line with respect to achieving our set targets with respect to reducing maternal mortality. Worse, even a cursory glance at the report will show the loopholes & contradictions that it is laden with. Figures and statistics provided in the report pronounce Pakistan suffers from a disturbingly high Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) - 276 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births! The ratio is considerably high when the individual average of provinces is taken into account with; Balochistan taking the lead with 856 maternal deaths per 100, 000 live births. Yet, despite these deplorable statistics the report concludes that it is “on-track” vis-a-vis reducing maternal mortality in Pakistan.

That is not the only paradox that the report depicts though; it also categorically states that Pakistan is lagging behind in all the indicators that define MMR, yet it proclaims of being able to come up to expectations by 2015. It makes one wonder how that seems probable, since four out of five indicators MDG 5 are not even close to reaching set targets! Furthermore, the report represents skewed statistical data collection as no indication of abortion is present in it (unsafe abortion is one of the factors for causes of maternal mortality). Another important point to note in this respect is that maternal mortality was not dealt as part of the public health agenda in the report; which goes completely against the UN declaration on MMR that uncompromisingly states that as a basic need rather a provision for women.

Additionally, the report gives no mention of the resource allocation in this respect, nor does did it give any mention of the civil society or its role in trying to reduce maternal mortality. All in all, the draft compared by the government was laden with incongruities and could not make a case for itself. The situation looks even bleaker in the wake of the recent waves of floods that have hit all four provinces of Pakistan. The already vulnerable women population is exposed to loss of homes, shelter and family in some cases, and has effectively become more trodden than regular. A UN report estimates that 500,000 pregnant women are at risk due in these floods; facing overcrowded and unhygienic shelters for delivery, absence of safe delivery kits and a dearth of even basic atmosphere for a newborn.

In this milieu, WPF Pakistan has stepped forth to do all that it can for flood affected women, under its Safe Motherhood Campaign. Safe delivery kits are being provided by the organization at districts that are part of its outreach, for pregnant women. Apart from that, WPF has drafted the officially submitted “Preventable Maternal Mortality and Morbidity and Human Rights” resolution in one of the provincial assemblies: Balochistan, and has ardently urged them to call on to the chief ministers of other assemblies for passing of a similar resolution. In addition to this, WPF Pakistan took apt & immediate note of HRCs call for the recognition of the landmark resolution on “Preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and human right” that was passed by the UN, of which Pakistan is a signatory. The call was to reaffirm the support to this resolution by governments and take note of the thematic study on the human rights dimensions of preventable maternal mortality and morbidity that was released recently. Conclusively, much effort is being made at this from by WPF, Pakistan. Even as the civil society organization try and push at all fronts to help reduce maternal mortality, there is a need for collaboration by all actors (civil society, government, media and the general masses) if there is even the slightest ambition to try and achieve the goals that we have set for ourselves. With just five years of time left with us till the cut-off date for the MDG we have hardly any time to spare; especially since the situation is more that meagre on ground than it is ever on paper. If there is any hope of achieving our set MDGs; it is going to be in unison of all actors and not in isolation.

For more information please logon to: www.wpfpak.org

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