Editorial

As the month of Ramzan is about to finish and Eid-ul-Fitar approaches near, the festivity and celebrations seem damp due to the calamitous aftermath of the floods that inundated most areas of Pakistan recently. On a slightly brighter note, flood efforts are gradually building up pace and relief work by the private sector and NGOs has been tremendous; with mobilization from every nook and corner, from pop stars to actors to the business community, it seems as if every individual is eager to play his/her part in this philanthropist mission.

In spite of the fact that World Population Foundation is not a humanitarian assistance organization it has ensured to play its part by mobilizing funds from WPF/RNG colleagues and their families. WPF, Pakistan staff contributed their one day salary to flood relief fund while WPF is coordinating with UNFPA, UNIFEM and Dutch NGOs working in Pakistan for support in affected districts in WPF outreach.

The month of August was a flurry of events; with the commemoration of the International Youth Day for the launch of International Youth Year here in Islamabad, organized by WPF and its partners: Save the Children and Plan, Pakistan on the 12th of August. Another successful campaign was run after that to commemorate the World Sexual Health Day on the 4th of September.

An advance Eid Mubarak to everyone but please remember our Pakistani brother and sister affected by the floods.

First World Sexual Health Day Celebrated in Pakistan!

The commemoration of the WSHD in Pakistan was a marked stepping stone in SRHR status and its recognition in this country. This is especially true in the light of the current calamitous spate of floods that have inundated acres of lands in our country, taking many lives, destroying miles of crops, displacing over two million people and leaving the future bleak and uncertain for them. More importantly, 85% of the displaced people are women and children – a segment of the population whose sexual health rights are violated even in regular circumstances –who are suffering not only from the usual pangs of hunger but also increased risk of sexual assault, exploitation and disease. This situation clearly makes the women and children more vulnerable and prone to sexual abuse and assault. Thus making it imperative for creating a general awareness of SRHR and the universal health rights one entails.

World Population Foundation (WPF) Pakistan, in association with World Association of Sexual Health (WAS) commemorated the First World Sexual Health Day 2010 to promote sexual heath and an acknowledgement of the need to propagate it in Pakistan. To this effect the WPF team, launched a web [click here] based promotion by utilizing social networking web servers like Facebook and Twitter; and instigating controlled and informed open discussions about sexual and reproductive health, designing and disseminating three posters, developing a thematic video and presentation and following up with two press releases in the national and regional newspapers. These included blogs and open forums for discussion on SRHR. Solidarity message to partners and a public service message to the general public were also crafted by the organization to achieve utmost attention and recognition of this day. To assemble maximum coverage to the event WPF staff participated in a television talk show “The Other Line” on Express 24/7 TV network and on Radio Pakistan talk show “Awaam ki Awaaz”; attended by Country Representative, Pakistan Qadeer Baig and Ahmed Shah Durrani. Thus, a media driven campaign was successfully run by WPF that utilized all forms of media coverage to disseminate information regarding the World Sexual Health day. WPF partners NGOs organized various activities related to WSHD in the respective districts including flood affected areas.

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

International Youth Day commemorated by Awaz CDS

In the backdrop of the devastating floods that hit various parts of the country Awaz CDS, an implementing partner of WPF in the EU-funded ‘Hamara Kal’ Project, organized an event on the eve of International Youth Day on 11th of August, 2010, at Government High School Hamidpur, Kanora. The central theme of the event was the promotion of meaningful participation of youth in every sphere of life with special emphasis to policy/decision making processes. In this regard, special emphasis was placed on the importance of young people’s role in the flood relief efforts, which were taking place in adjacent Multan and other parts of Southern Punjab.. The session opened with a dialogue regarding active and meaningful participation of youth in all spheres of life. The participants in the discussion were candid in their views and passionate about wanting to play an active role in the countries future. However, they lacked required opportunities and encouragement from their families and the government to do so. The session helped by encouraging the youth to actively contribute to the flood relief efforts and were given tips on community mobilization in this respect.

Gender Based Violence & Reproductive Health

Although much progress had been made in the six districts of the GBV project on collection of data and was making headway in collaboration with its six partners in carrying out a mapping exercise of CBO’s and local available resources; to develop a “Responsive Mechanism” and to identify CBO’s as potential partners to organize community activities, the recent floods caused a suspension there. The floods have severely affected these districts; wiping away property, livestock, infrastructure, crop and homes in the blink of an eye. In light of the current situation WPF has taken up the responsibility of proceeding in coordination with UNIFEM and UNFPA to support vulnerable groups for their relief and rehabilitation in these six districts. Initial assessment will be carried in six districts through WPF partner organizations to identify the vulnerable groups’ i.e. pregnant women, female head of household, people with disabilities, separated/single women and elderly people. The plan aims to address both immediate humanitarian services to vulnerable groups by ensuring women’s access to essential services and to respond to GBV as well.

Development of a Standard SRHR Education Curriculum

WPF and Aahung joined hands to develop a standardized curriculum on SRH education for school going boys and girls between the ages of 12-17 years. This curriculum was developed for the “Rights Driven Institutionalization of Sexual and Reproductive Health in Pakistan” funded by the European Union. The curriculum was developed by the SRH education teams of both the organizations keeping in mind their previous knowledge of its implementation as well as the results of the research carried out for the similar project to assess the status of SRH rights of young people in Pakistan last year. It covers issues from self awareness and communication/ interpersonal skills to physical changes experienced by boys and girls during puberty to serious health issues like HIV/AIDS & Hepatitis B & C. Much progress has been made with regards to this curriculum as it was reviewed by the implementing partners (Awaz Foundation and HANDS), their respective District Education Officials as well as teachers, master trainers and head master who would be implementing it in the school systems. This curriculum will be taught to 65000 young boys and girls in Matiari, Karachi and Multan in the year 2010 and 11.

Proposed partnership with Plan, Pakistan

WPF has gained valuable experience working with youth-led organizations and government ministries on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) issues, especially adolescent SRHR issues, for the past ten years in various districts of the country.

In this backdrop the WPF negotiations for a sustained partnership with Plan, Pakistan, to scale up similar activities in the target areas of Plan, Pakistan –which include Vehari, Chakwal, rural Islamabad and Mansehra are underway. In this regard, the WPF has proposed the implementation of three innovative programmes –including Life Skills Based Education (LSBE) programme, PARWAN and YAN–for the alleviation of sexual health of young people in the aforementioned areas. WPF believes that implementation of all three programs in project areas of Plan will be extremely beneficial to the youth population of these areas in terms of SRHR promotion, development of LSBE potential and awareness amongst LSBE alumni provide support structure to PARWAN members. Thus, the overall impact of the implementation of these programs in Plan areas will ensure a widespread outreach and affirmative positive development in SRHR status in these areas.

Empowering Girls – Transforming Communities

Life Skills Education Curriculum for the project

An integral component of project the Empowering Girls- Transforming Communities project; Life Skills Education Curriculum is in its final stages of completion. This curriculum which includes both a manual for teachers and workbook for students, aims to provide adolescent girls with basic Life Skills at initial stages of their lives to empower them to be able to deal with everyday challenges with confidence and positive attitude. This ultimately facilitates their chances of acquiring higher education resulting in social empowerment to sustain themselves and their families. Moreover, for adolescents, leadership development should begin at home and schools where they get first-hand exposure to justice and injustice, rights and responsibilities. The activities of the curriculum are a combination of discussions, role plays, case studies and key messages which not only encourage participatory learning but also instill self-belief of both the teachers and students. Master trainers from Sanghar and Gujranwala will be trained on the curriculum and will further train teachers from the respective districts. During the month of September, 20 Master Trainers from the respective districts will be trained by WPF on this curriculum.

National Youth Conference

Bargad in collaboration with UNFPA organized a three days national youth conference on Risks, Dividends of Youth Bulge in Pakistan from August 8-10, 2010 in Lahore. The conference featured different intellect speakers from civil society and government. WPF Country Representative, participated in this conference and moderated the 2nd day conference morning session on ‘Declining Fertility in Pakistan’. DR. Tauseef Ahmed, Pathfinder Fynd, Dr. Faria Ahsan UNFPA and Ms. Bushra Sadiq of Bargad were the speakers of this plenary. The conference was attended by about 200 representatives of Youth from various universities of Pakistan.

The symposium was deemed productive as much was discussed and debated on topics such as declining fertility, population dynamics and related areas and how to devise strategies, engage government support and plan to overcome these issues.

Meeting with Secretary Population Welfare Department, Punjab

To brief the Secretary PWD Punjab Dr. Ijaz Munir and Additional Secretary Dr. Afshan about the Empowering Girls: Transforming communities, WPF Team comprising of Country Representative, Project Coordinator and Program Officer PME had two hour session at Population Welfare Department Punjab in Lahore. This was to facilitate building partnerships, initiating policy dialogues and advocacy for enabling environment for this project. The meeting comprised of a detailed briefing with regards to the progress, needs and design of the project particularly Life Skill Based Education and how the Population Welfare Department and WPF can collaborate for smooth implementation of the LSBE to young people by involving the staff of the department.

International Youth Day to kick of the launch of “Year of the Youth”

World Population Foundation, (WPF) in collaboration with the Save the Children Alliance and Plan-Pakistan organized an event to launch the International Year of Youth as declared by the United Nations here in Islamabad. The event which took place on the eve of International Youth Day followed the theme of “Youth’s Right to Participate”. The event which was attended by more than 200 participants aimed to highlight the importance of including young people in the decision making process, especially at the policy level while at the same time encouraging the young people to play maximum role in the nation building process; special emphasis in this regard was laid on the situation in flood affected areas and the young participants were asked to help in whatever way they could to uplift the plight of their affected brethren.

The evening was highly motivating for participants as Youth Champions Awards were also distributed on the occasion to recognize the contribution of young people who had previously not received acknowledgement for their efforts in various walks of life. Three recipients were honored with this award for their unrelenting efforts in the field of education and its promotion; Ms. Iffat Yousaf, Demas Iqbal and Mr. Qaiser Roonjha. A panel discussion was also organized for the event that focused on the various issues confronting the Pakistani youth and how to deal with them by involving the youth in the policy-making process. Four dynamic young leaders including Mr. Ahmad Durrani, Ms. Yumna Hasanay, Mr. Jamshed Danial and Ms. Abeerah Zahid were part of the panel. They expressed their dismay over the way youth is often sidelined during the formalization of decisions that affect their lives the most.

The event was made more interactive and thought-provoking by a powerful mime focusing on the theme of ‘Right to Participate” staged by Osama Qazi and his team to symbolize how young people are forced to remain silent spectators as people with virtually no sense of youth issues are often in the driving seat. The event concluded with a live concert by Irtaash featuring national and revolutionary songs to rekindle the essence of the nationalism.

Training Session on Institutionalization of SMART Chart

In line with the WPF’s continual commitment of enhancing skills and capacity of its staff, the Policy Advocacy department arranged a two-day training session on the institutionalization of SMART Chart communications tool in the organizations communications strategy and procedure. Developed by Spitfire Strategies, USA, the tool introduces a systematic process in design of communications strategies that ensures effectiveness and cost-efficiency. Packard Foundation has taken lead in the introduction of this tool in Pakistan’s non-profit sector and has teamed up with Rozan to provide trainings to organizations on implementation of SMART Chart. Zehra Kamal and Azhar of the Rozan facilitated the training sessions which was of great value to WPF staff who are required to engage in communications and awareness raising activities planned under their respective projects on a regular basis. WPF is considering adopting SMART Chart tool as a formal guiding principle for its team so that communication strategies reflect a logical planning process and give worthwhile results.

Keeping in view the importance of continuously looking at the outputs, achievements and documenting project’s results, it is mandatory to have a strong Monitoring & Evaluation Framework for projects. During last couple of months, PME team has worked on upgrading the system to cater quantitative and qualitative data. In line with project review meeting with EU delegation, PME team is expanding the scope of the existing web-base PME system to cater analysis of the data, cross tabulation, producing graphs etc with technical support from external consultant. To further support the PME function, an internal recruitment has been made into this program which will facilitate in building the unit with more sophistication.

The Knowledge Management team has been very active throughout the month of August; coordinating the IYD with designs for invitations and posters for promotion followed by running the campaign on World Sexual Health Day. These included assisting the campaign in all technical matters; the designing and dissemination of the messages, the devising of specific web page for WSHD, coordinating and assisting media coverage and drafting the follow up press releases of the campaign. The team coordinated all media mediums to assure that the WSHD campaign is run successfully and in a timely manner.

The position of Program Officer: Communications and Research was filled up by a new staff member; Sana Yousuf as Areebah Shahid left WPF. Sana did her BSc (Hons) from LUMS in Political Science/Development Studies (2007) and her M.Phil in International Relations from Quaid-e-Azam University (2008).

In an effort to run smoother systems an internal recruitment was made whereby Mr. Naeem Gul, Program Officer, has been posted as Program Officer Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation. Through this internal recruitment, it is expected that Mr. Gul will build up this unit by utilizing his vast experience in the field of monitoring and evaluation from the UN and other development sector organizations. He brought with him expertise in designing projects, their logical frameworks, M&E systems and experience of monitoring and evaluating projects and has an added value to this unit.

Sex is one word that has a decidedly negative connotation in Pakistan. Hence, it is not surprising that sexual health and rights issues are hardly discussed openly, despite the fact that Pakistan is doing poorly in terms of promoting healthy sexuality amongst its population. In fact, Pakistan has been lagging behind many countries with similar socio-economic situations –such as Bangladesh and Nepal –in terms of reproductive health indicators for quite some time now.

Yet these circumstances have not elicited the required level of public awareness and involvement aiming to improve the current situation in Pakistan. And though the alleviation of sexual health in Pakistan is primarily the responsibility of the government, there is little or nothing they can achieve in this regard if reprehensible cultural practices such as “honor killings” are defended regularly in society, child sexual abuse victims are reluctant to register cases with the police for fear of being raped by them and if a large number of Pakistani women still believe giving birth in an established medical facility is “not necessary”. These problems, which stem from a lack of concern and awareness about sexual health rights within society, can only be effectively addressed if they are raised by civil society and the media, along with other important community stakeholders. Regretfully, however, there is still a long road ahead of us in this regard. The recent spate of floods has only exacerbated the situation as they have devastated the lives of people –sexual and otherwise. More importantly, 85% of the displaced people are women and children – a segment of the population whose sexual health rights are violated even in regular circumstances –who are suffering not only from the usual pangs of hunger but also an increased risk of sexual assault, exploitation and disease. Yet these increased sexual health risks have not been highlighted adequately by civil society and the media: people in general are still only talking about the economic costs of the disaster, not realizing that the overarching social outlays are far greater. Apart from food, water and shelter, the female population is also in dire need of safe delivery kits, nutritional supplements and sanitary products for pregnant/lactating mothers and women. Meanwhile, children and adolescents will require information on how to protect their bodies from sexual health risks like sexual abuse alongside appropriate psychological and sexual counseling services.

In this backdrop the World Population Foundation (WPF) has taken the important step of organizing a multi-component media-driven initiative, from the 1st to the 4th of September, to introduce World Sexual Health Day (WSHD) into the annual calendar of events in Pakistan. The aim of this initiative will be to instigate open, informative and constructive discussion of sexual health and rights, especially with respect to three identified sub-themes –that deal with the relationship of sexual health with prevalent gender norms, fertility practices and sexual health and education services, in a Pakistani context.

The WPF believes that this occasion important in Pakistan’s context –especially in light of the fact that the root cause of Pakistan’s sexual ill-health lies in the lack of concerned awareness of general public regarding sexual health and rights issues. This lack of concerned awareness is reflected in the fact that although Pakistan has one of the highest population growth rates in the region, a mere 21.7% of currently married women of reproductive age report present use of modern contraceptives. Similarly, despite the fact that over 80% of all maternal mortalities derive from wholly preventable reasons, only 34.2% of live births are attended by trained birth attendants. Additionally, the lack of concerned awareness is also evident in persistent opposition to sexuality education for adolescents who form 64% of the population despite the fact they are subject to numerous sexual health risks, most severe of which is violent sexual abuse, which took place 1719 times in 2005 alone. And those are only the cases that made it to print! The platform of WSHD will serve as an important forum from where such issues can be raised and crucial –and in some cases life-saving –factual information about sexual health and rights issues can be discussed in an open and constructive manner.

The recognition of WSHD in Pakistan is an important stepping stone with respect to SRHR, as it will initiate an open and constructive forum for the discussion of sexual health which will in turn raise concerned awareness. Such practices held on regular basis will help create an informed society, more importantly women and youth, and gradually normalize the discussion held on sexual issues on public forums. It will help remove the cloak of negativity of condemnation that is associated with any sexual health issues. Sessions can be organized at school and universities on this particular day to give informed presentations by SRHR experts, anonymous hotlines can be set up particularly for the youth and women to come forth and discuss any sexual problems they face without fear social out casting, informed documentaries or plays can be projected on this particular day to deliver social messages through engaging entertainment mediums.

To achieve tangible results however, it is crucial that the role of civil society be enhanced in future plans of action. The public sector must be fully involved in these endeavours and any technical or financial assistance needed by them can be met and complemented by the non-profit organizations. Augmented media involvement and effective use of media tools to raise widespread awareness about sexual health and rights of individuals should be employed to attain maximum possible coverage at all levels. Working along these lines and commemorating such days is then very important and has more than just symbolic value if carried out properly.

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