Reproductive Family Health Association of Fiji (RFHAF)
Project Date: April 2018 – March 2019
Grant Value: Type A – FJ $100,000
Area of Focus: Future she deserves
Project Status: COMPLETED
About the Project
Over the past decade, there has been significant investment in strengthening child health programs and services in Fiji. This has brought improved health outcomes for neonates, infants, and children. However, to date, there has been less investment in the health and well-being of adolescents. Based on the 2007 Census, the female adolescent population aged between 10-14 years accounts for 4.8% (40,015) of the total population in Fiji.
Girls in Fiji are faced with social isolation, economic vulnerability, and lack of appropriate health information and services – factors that prevent a healthy transition from girlhood into womanhood. They are faced with high rates of gender-based violence and unsafe sex – increasing their risk for unwanted pregnancy, Sexually Transmitted Infections including HIV infection, and school dropout. This leads to a lack of economic resources and income-generating options and a general lack of agency in shaping their lives. The root cause of these vulnerabilities is largely determined by girls’ weak social, health, and economic assets.
As such the ‘Future She Deserves’ project aims to build these assets as an interconnected approach towards mitigating girls’ vulnerabilities. RFHAF piloted this program in 2017, targeted for girls aged 15-24, lesson learned from this pilot program is for RFHAF’s outreach to targeted girls age group of 12-14 because they would most likely be going through puberty and need guidance to the changes going on within them. Hence, the need for a program such as this to empower our young girls in terms of SRH to ensure better understanding and decision making. The project will strengthen and empower young girls in decision making about their Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.
This project provides the young girls and their parents/guardians with:
– Capacity development, through mentoring on reproductive health and sexuality;
– Promote attitudes and behaviours that will lead to a better quality of life for adolescent girls;
– Impart communication, decision-making, assertiveness, setting goals and resisting peer pressure skills to young adolescents girls through mentoring programs to enable them to overcome the challenges of growing up and be responsible adults.
A grant from the Fiji Women’s Fund enabled Reproductive Family Health Association of Fiji (RFHAF) to conduct activities across the following programmatic areas:
– Strengthening office administration and operation;
– Training of Trainers for mentors;
– Capacity Building for Parents and Guardians;
– Future she Deserves training/mentorship for young girls; and
– Promotional materials and awards for young girls
About RFHAF
RHAF is a non-governmental organisation that works towards a Fiji where women, men, and young people have control over their bodies, therefore their destinies. RHAF expands the possibilities for women and young people to lead healthy sexual lives where gender nor sexuality are no longer a source of discrimination or inequality. The project will strengthen and empower young girls in decision making about their Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.
This project provides the young girls and their parents/guardians with:
(i) Capacity development, through mentoring on reproductive health and sexuality;
(ii) Promote attitudes and behaviours that will lead to a better quality of life for adolescent girls;
(iii) Impart communication, decision-making, assertiveness, setting goals and resisting peer pressure skills to young adolescents’girls through mentoring programs to enable them to overcome the challenges of growing up and be responsible adults.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/rfhaf/