This project seeks to improve access and the quality of reproductive health services for adolescent girls and women of reproductive age in the Kalikot district of Nepal and the Son La province of Vietnam. The project aims to improve health and gender equality (GE) among adolescent girls and women and reduce incidences of child marriages, a form of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The project takes an integrated and holistic approach to empower local adolescent girls and women to exercise their reproductive rights and ensure access to health and reproductive services when needed. Project activities include: (1) conduct participatory-action research (PAR) to enable the identification of community-driven solutions; (2) engaging with local community leaders and health system stakeholders to build the capacity of local health workers, administrators, teachers, young people, and other relevant community actors; (3) promoting the quality of reproductive health services and their use by girls and women, especially for marginalized populations; (4) tackling cultural norms that enable SGBV, including child marriages; (5) consult with beneficiaries in the communities to understand their specific need and respond with appropriate curriculum and training on planning, delivering, monitoring and evaluating gender-responsive health services; and (6) developing appropriate curriculum and train teachers & student facilitators to advance the comprehensiveness and effectiveness of the current reproductive health education programs within the communities. The project expects to reach approximately 1,600 adolescent boys and girls (800 in school and 800 from the community) and directly influence 2,500 women and 2,500 men, members of 60 community groups in Vietnam. In Nepal, the project expects to reach approximately 4,500 adolescents women, 2,000 adolescents man adolescents, 30 local health workers, 45 women community health volunteers, 45 community committees, and 25 religious leaders. This project works in partnership with International Nepal Fellowship (INF) in Nepal and the Center for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population (CCIHP) in Vietnam.
