Reproductive Health Education Tool Respects and Relates to Local Traditions
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An illustration from the educational flip-chart USAID sponsored to engage Somaliwomen and men. |
Some people perk up at the mere mention of sexual and
reproductive health. Others nod off. What does
reproductive health really mean? How does it affect me?
To engage the mostly Somali women and men living in
Kenya’s Dadaab Refugee Camp on this vital health
subject, USAID supported ESD, Pathfinder's development of a new
reproductive health outreach tool [PDF, 4.7MB], working with some of the
refugees who live in the camps.
The result is an educational flip-chart comprised of 12
water-color drawings that portray the clothing, customs,
behaviors and physical geography familiar to the majority
of refugees in the Dadaab and Kakuma Refugee Camps.
The pictures add a realistic visual dimension to the major
reproductive health topics that affect virtually every man
and woman in the camps:
- Family planning and birth spacing;
- Safe motherhood, including the importance of good nutrition,
safe delivery and care after a baby has been
born; and
- Sexually transmitted infections.
In an unusual twist, pictures and accompanying text also
address two often-dismissed subjects: gender based
violence, including female genital cutting, and rape and defilement.
The scale of the gender based violence
challenge is enormous. It is estimated that at least one in
three of the world’s female population has been either physically
or sexually abused at some time in their lives.
This effort was part of a three-country regional program to
improve reproductive health among refugee populations.
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