Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH)

The sexual and reproductive health of young people has always been one of FHIDO’s intervention due to a high prevalence of STIs like HIV/AIDS among young people in its target area. In its youth development program department, it has been engaged to undertake continuous dialogue sessions on major factors for youth vulnerability to sexual and reproductive health problems with the use of peer educators. The awareness which has been undertaken in its all project sites focuses on conveying correct information about the risks of unwanted pregnancies and STIs, how to address peer and social pressures, how to protect adolescent girls from coercion into unwanted sex which predispose them to many risks. To ensure the practice of safe behavior and to resist peer pressures, FHIDO has also been organizing continuous life skill trainings for adolescent girls and boys and school SRH and gender club members. School club members as well as girls from low economy have also been provided with sanitary pads, and constructed model girl’s menstrual hygiene management rooms to keep their health and sanitation. I relation to this, FHIDO has also trained adolescent girls on how to produce locally available sanitary pads. 

Since many youth centers which are established by local government which are supposed to be youth friendly are not attracting youth to get different services. Hence in each year, after undertaking thorough assessments off youth centers, it has been equipping the youth centers with different materials and equipment which include computers and access to internet, tables, chairs and shelfs, reference materials, table tennis and darts which attract surrounding youth to be tempted to visit the centers. In addition to this, target youth centers have also been equipped with condom outlets, examination beds and medical equipment coupled with basic capacity building trainings to staffs of the youth centers on psychosocial support and counselling so that those youths who come to the center can get necessary services. FHIDO’s intervention in SRH has brought significant change in creating awareness of wider adolescent youth on basic knowledge to lead healthy life and expand youth friendly centers in target areas.