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280497
Community reformers; An innovative and sustainable male mobilization approach in rural districts of Pakistan
Background: Pakistan, with only 30% CPR has 37% unmet need for FP. Inter-spousal communication on FP is 54% and this dearth of male involvement is not only due to not knowing of the importance of spacing pregnancies, prevailing religious misconceptions, but also poor performance of population program male mobilizers leading to lack of male mobilization activities.
Methodology: To mobilize men, Pathfinder has initiated an innovative ‘Community Reformers' team, under “Scaling-up of Best Practices in FP/RH” project, in selected 26 Union Councils of two districts of Punjab and Sindh, where baseline survey in 2011 showed only 44% couple discussed family size. This team from each Union Council includes local religious leader, male secondary school teacher and male activist. They conduct male support group meetings with young, newly wedded and men with 1 or 2 children along with community influencer's and gate keepers. District Health Managers, monitor these meetings.
Results: In one year of the project life the team has mobilized 21,394 men through 1,144 meetings, improving inter-spousal communication by 12 percent from baseline, with increase in 8 percent in FP services.
Conclusion: Community Reformers' have become advocates for spacing of pregnancies beyond project related activities and evolved a sustainable model of male mobilization.
Learning Objectives:
Demonstrate role of gatekeepers in society to improve maternal and child health
Keywords: Community Capacity, Community Collaboration
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a Fellow of Royal Institute of Public Health, London with an MPH from University Malaya, working as Director Programs with Pathfinder International since April 2010. I have designed and implemented new initiatives in Pakistan related to improve including counseling skills of community health workers and male involvement in FP/RH, including public private partnership model and Voucher for Health initiative for poorest women.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.