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| UNFPA
at work in Eritrea Programme Highlights: Building from Scratch Providing Reproductive Health and Family Planning Services to Youth Population Education and Family welfare: Nothing Succeeds like Success Box: Profiles in Change: Two Women Who Make a Difference |
Population Education
and Family Welfare: Nothing Succeeds like Success Back in Asmara, Yohannes Haile, Director of the Employment Division in the Ministry of Labour, sips strong coffee in a sidewalk cafe as he describes one of the most difficult and comprehensive projects he has ever attempted. In close collaboration with UNFPA, Haile introduced a population education and family welfare programme for workers and trade union members in 52 large enterprises around the country. The idea was simple enough: workers and their families needed to know about the rising threat of STDs and AIDS. "But, of course, from this we went on to related issues like family planning, better family health, maternal and child health care, as well as labour productivity and time management, among other issues," explains Haile. The National Union of Eritrean Workers backed the project because it protected union members. Management could see the practical benefits in terms of fewer days lost and increased efficiency on the shop floor. A supervisory committee to oversee the project and monitor its results includes the Ministries of Labour and Health, the National Union of Eritrean Women and Asmara University, among others. All materials produced for the project were reviewed by the committee. Union members from the factory floor were trained as motivators. The first problem was that workers were too embarrassed to ask for condoms or other forms of contraceptives openly. "So for international AIDS day, we distributed 300,000 condoms free of charge at all participating factories," says Pam de Largy. "Now condoms are freely available in all factories, and factory clinic staff have been trained in counselling." Although the UNFPA-sponsored effort was the only contraceptive outreach programme in the country at the time, the demand for condoms and other contraceptives multiplied dramatically. The reaction was so overwhelming that the country ran out of condoms twice during the first year. Impressed by the impact and cost-effectiveness of the campaign—the first phase cost only $180,000—the Ministry of Labour extended the project. "This time we went beyond organized labour," explains Haile. "We reached out to women’s groups, hotel and bar owners, long-distance truck drivers and the military. The project was well received in Assab, the country’s second port city on the Red Sea, where STDs and HIV are serious problems. The next phase will include commercial sex workers." The project has trained 900 motivators in all sectors throughout the country. To meet a shortage of training materials, the Ministry of Information was brought in to help design them and assist with the production of posters and information materials; the Ministry also commissioned 40 radio scripts. For its part, UNFPA produced a series of 25 posters by local artists on themes such as safe sexual practices, birth-spacing, job safety and AIDS prevention, often using ideas provided by the motivators. Trainers have a high regard for the project. "Their reaction has been very positive," says Haile. "They are constantly asking us for more support to do other activities, such as special programmes on World Population Day and projects tied into the interests of their local constituencies. We have, in a sense, created a popular movement. The challenge will be in maintaining the momentum in the years to come." The government has not decided whether to ask for UNFPA assistance for the third phase or underwrite the costs itself. "We want to keep up the momentum. This has become a grass-roots effort and it needs continued support," says Pam de Largy. "But we also agree with the government, that we want our programmes to become sustainable as quickly as possible." |
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