allAfrica.com: Ethiopia: Over 46 Mln People Provided With RH/FP Services (Page 1 of 1)

Over 46 million persons in Ethiopia received well intended messages on Reproductive Health and Family Planning over the last five years by Pathfinder International Ethiopia, a family planning provider.

This was disclosed at a meeting on Friday that aimed at revising works in the NGO's ts five- year program which reflected on lessons learnt, and identifying challenges encountered through the way.

With a focus to the lives of families through the provision of reproductive health and family planning services, the NGO said it officially closed its five year RH/FP which run from 2002 to 2007, a program that covers a total of 370 Woredas in the country.

Hailing the success achieved over the five years and a half period of its program operation in Ethiopia, Pathfinder International Ethiopia Country Representative Tilahun Gidey said THE NGO believes in staying focused on RH/FP innervations Naming Ethiopia among the copuntries of focus for the organization, Tilahun said a lot was yet to be done in the country in the area of reproductive health and family planning as it is still characterized to be explosive.

He said Pathfinder collaborates with local NGOs and other stakeholders to deliver training, commodities, and services in reproductive health, family planning, maternal/child health, HIV/AIDS prevention and care, and post-abortion care, taking a community-based approach to reach the country's most underserved populations According to Tilahun, the support of the government, polices guidelines that permitted Pathfinder to operate in the country made the achievements possible Over 25 million dollar-worth contraceptives have been used over the last five years to enable Pathfinder provide the critically needed family planning services in partnership with US government "We have used over 2400 government health facilities for referral, used ministry of health staff members to train on our behalf," Tilahun said adding that the organization has an ambition to even expand its areas of operations in the next five-year program During a meeting where the organization officially concluded its five-year Reproductive Health and Family Health Program, Tilahun said USAID provided more than 80% of the financial resources of the project, while the Swedish Government and people offered 15% with the remaining provided by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation over the years.

A range of beneficiaries of the program were present on the occasion to give testimonies as to how they benefit from the program.

Government officials, representatives of donor organizations, NGOs and other stakeholders attended the occasion.

With a population of 75 million, Ethiopia is the second largest country in sub-Saharan Africa. As 85 percent of Ethiopians live in rural areas, access to modern health care is often limited and harmful traditional practices, such as early marriage and female circumcision, are prevalent.

Pathfinder International has been operational in Ethiopian since 1995 with the focus to improve the lives of families through the provision of reproductive health and family planning services. The organization had secured finance for USAID, SIDA, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, UNFPA and UNICEF to execute programs.

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