Member Associations

The Association Béninoise pour la Promotion de la Famille (ABPF) has been operating for 38 years. ABPF offers family planning, ante-natal and post-abortion care, infertility treatment, screening of cancers of the reproductive system, and management of sexually transmitted infections (including HIV and AIDS). Its service points include permanent and mobile clinics. ABPF is focused on reaching marginalized groups such as prisoners, sex workers, refugees and internally displaced persons. The majority of clients are estimated to be poor, marginalized, socially excluded and/or under-served. To reduce the national maternal mortality rate, ABPF operates an effective community-based obstetric and antenatal care service in 16 villages, using traditional birth attendants and volunteer health workers. ABPF also runs a locally-based service for young people which involves hundreds of community-based distributors (CBDs) and peer educators providing young people with sexual and reproductive health information, condoms and counselling services. In acknowledgment of ABPF’s expertise and accomplishments, the Government of Benin invited the organization to become a member of the technical committee (in the Ministry of Planning) that drafts reproductive health policies: the Population Policy, the Family Health Policy, HIV and AIDS policies and the National Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy. Whilst ABPF has recorded major advances in sexual and reproductive health, there are still very significant challenges as the figures for lifetime risk of maternal death, child mortality rate and unmet need for contraception of illustrate. Driving the work of ABPF is a large and dedicated team of hundreds of volunteers. There’s a Youth Action Movement which draws on the skills of young people. ABPF works in partnership with a range of government organisations, including parliament, the Ministère de la Famille, the Ministère de la Jeunesse, and the Ministère du Plan. Funders include USAID. Non-goverrnmental organizations working with ABPF include the Country Co-ordinating Mechanism for health and sexual and reproductive health.    Contacts Website: http://www.abpf.org/nouv/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ABPF.IPPF/

In Botswana, HIV prevalence rates are among the highest in the world: over 33% of the total population is living with HIV and AIDS. There’s a severe shortage of skilled health personnel, and very limited resources in the national health system. Formed in 1988, the Botswana Family Welfare Association (BOFWA) is fighting hard to fill the gap, but the challenge is enormous. The organization’s programmes target young people, sex workers, orphans, people with hearing and speech problems, and internally displaced persons. It provides family planning, infertility management, maternity services, voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), antenatal care and the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV and AIDS.   Most of BOFWA's clients are poor, marginalized, socially excluded and/or under-served. BOFWA uses a variety of different methods to reach poor and marginalized groups and communities, and works hard to develop acceptance of, and support for sexual and reproductive health services and programmes among community leaders, politicians and the police. BOFWA is proud of its achievements, but knows that there is an immense amount of work to be done. BOFWA aims to expand its services substantially in years to come. BOFWA works in close partnership with the National Council on Population and Development (NCPD, a government agency), with non-governmental organizations including Botswana Christian Aids Intervention (BOCAIT) and with private sector groups including the Botswana Confederation of Commerce, Barclays Bank of Botswana, and Barlow World. BOFWA also partners with the Botswana Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS, the Botswana National Youth Council and the Botswana Network of Ethics and Law for HIV and AIDS. Contacts Website: http://www.bofwa.org.bw/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Botswana-Family-Welfare-Association-275893025804336/    

Association Burkinabé pour le Bien-Etre Familial (FPABF) was set up in 1985. Staff and over 1,000 volunteers work to provide sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to poor and marginalized people. Services include antenatal and post-natal care, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV and AIDS, provision of antiretroviral drugs, voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), screening for cancers of the reproductive system, post-abortion care, prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV and AIDS, and home-based care for people living with HIV and AIDS.  FPABF’s work reaches out to the poor and marginalized, and the organization runs special initiatives focused on reaching young people on the streets, people living with HIV and AIDS, and students. Professional training is provided to young people, including members of FPABF’s Youth Action Movement, which enables them to participate in small-scale profitable ventures and escape poverty. The nation has severe SRH challenges in terms of lifetime risk of maternal death and unmet need for contraception. One of the most serious  issues in Burkina Faso is the 66% prevalence of female genital mutilation: a psychologically traumatic experience, an infringement of human rights and a source of substantial physical damage requiring major medical intervention.      FPABP works in partnership with the Ministry of Health, the Secretariat Permanent des Organisations Non Gouvernementales (SPONG), Réseau des ONG en population et développement (REOPOD) and a range of funders including UNFPA, the EU, UNICEF and DANIDA. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/www.abbef.net/

Set up in 1991, the Association Burundaise pour le Bien-Etre Familial's (ABUBEF) original mission was to deliver family planning. Over 20 years later, the organization operates a large number of services across a broad range of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) needs, including prevention and management of HIV and AIDS, youth-friendly counselling and education, pre-marital counselling, and antenatal and post-natal care.  It accomplished this through 18 service points, including static and mobile clinics, and community-based services. An estimated 80% of its clients are poor, marginalized, socially excluded and/or under-served.  Particular beneficiaries of ABUBEF’s services include young people living with HIV and AIDS, internally displaced persons, women of child-bearing age, sex workers, drug users and street children. ABUBEF delivers its service through a dedicated team which includes 81 staff, nearly 500 volunteers, 75 peer educators and well over 1,000 community-based distributors (CBDs). Their commitment to ABUBEF is crucial to the nation’s current and future sexual and reproductive health.   ABUBEF’s partners include donors such as UNFPA, FHI, CARE and CNLS, and it works together with organizations including Réseau National des Jeunes Engagés pour la Lutte Contre le Sida (RENAJES) and the Association pour la Promotion de la Fille Burundaise (APFB). Website: http://www.abubef.org/

The Cameroon National Association for Family Welfare (CAMNAFAW) was created in 1987 to respond to the needs of women who wanted to plan their families and to enjoy higher standards of living. The organization has rapidly grown into the country’s leading provider of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. The challenges facing the people of Cameroon and the organization are severe. This is a country with very high levels of maternal death and child mortality and an HIV prevalence rate of over 10%. Health provision is limited: CAMNAFAW is working tirelessly to deliver to populations in the greatest and most urgent need of SRH support.  Through its service points, including dedicated youth sites, run by full-time staff and supported by over a thousand volunteers, CAMNAFAW provides a complete suite of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. It offers family planning, vaccination, paediatric care services, antenatal and post-natal care, post-abortion care, the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted and opportunistic infections, screening of cancers of the reproductive system, general laboratory work, voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), home-based care, and education programmes aimed at reducing stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS. An estimated 80% of clients are poor, marginalized, socially excluded and/or under-served. These include people living with HIV and AIDS (PLHIV), sex workers, and unmarried men and women.  CAMNAFAW works in partnership with government and with non-governmental organisations including Care Cameroon, Femmes-Santé-Developpement en Afrique Sub-Saharienne (FESADE), the Youth Development Foundation, OFSAD, Scouts du Cameroun, the Support Centre for New Local Development Alternatives (CANADEL), Service Catholique de la Santé, Service Protestant de la Santé, the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA Cameroon), and the Réseau. Camerounais des associations des Personnes vivants avec le VIH (Récap+). CAMNAFAW receives support from the Government of Cameroon, UNFPA, the Government of Japan, the IPPF Japan Trust Fund, Care Cameroun, and CAREF.

Established in 1995, the Associação Cabo-Verdiana Para a Protecao Da Familia (VERDEFAM) serves a population of just over 500,000, about 10% of people living in the Republic of Cape Verde. Cape Verde is an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa. Through static service points and mobile clinics, the organization offers family planning, the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV and AIDS, and antenatal and post-natal care. Staff are supported by a large group of volunteers and specially-trained peer educators. VERDEFAM also works in collaboration with Cape Verde National TV to produce health sensitization programmes. Because of its wide-ranging sexual and reproductive health (SRH) expertise, VERDEFAM was invited to participate in the national committee of strategic SRH organizations which together formulated Cape Verde’s National Reproductive Health programme and the 2006-2011 National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan. Despite its relatively high level of development compared with many other African countries (according to a variety of international indices) the country still has worryingly high maternal and infant mortality counts. Together, these SRH challenges emphasize the importance of VERDEFAM’s services to the men, women, young people and children of the Republic. VERDEFAM works in partnership with a number of government departments, including the Ministry of Health, the Cape Verdian Institute for Gender Equality and Equity (ICIEG), the Committee for the Coordination and fight against HIV and AIDS (CCS-SIDA), the Committee for the Coordination of the fight against Drugs (CCCD) and the Ministry of Education. Civil society partners include the Organizaçao das Mulheres de Cabo Verde (OMCV) and the Red Cross and Acrides. It also works with national networks: the Comité de Coordination du Combat au VIH/SIDA, the Comité Municipal de Santé de la mairie de Praia and the Plateforme des ONGs du Cap-Verde. VERDEFAM receives funding from GTZ, the UNFPA, the National HIV and AIDS Council (BM/CCS-SIDA), ICIEG/SNU), UNICEF and UNAIDS. VERDEFAM has a private sector partnership with the national telecom company.   Contacts Website: www.verdefam.cv Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/verdefam.verde​

Sexual and reproductive health (SHR) statistics for the Central African Republic are some of the poorest on the continent. The need for proper, informed, accessible, safe, stigma-free sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services is paramount. The Association Centrafricaine pour le Bien-Etre Familial (ACABEF) came into being in 1987, expressly to address the urgent need for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. Working intensively within communities, the organization has grown rapidly over the years and now provides sexuality education and SRH services including family planning, gynaecological counselling and care, post-abortion care, antenatal care and voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV. ACABEF operates permanent and  mobile clinics with community-based distribution sites (CBDs). In addition to full-time health personnel and administrative staff, the organization relies on the dedicated support of hundreds of volunteers, a Youth Action Movement and over a hundred trained peer educators. And ACABEF's outcomes are impressive. The majority of all services were provided to poor, marginalized, socially excluded and/or under-served people.  ACABEF works in partnership with the government ministries in charge of planning, health and family and social affairs. It benefits from the support of CISJEU and its donors include UNFPA and Population Services International. ACABEF has close working relationships include CIONGCA (which coordinates the response of all NGOs working at national level), the Central African Network of People living with HIV (RECAPEV), the Réseau des Organisations Nationales de Lutte contre le SIDA (RONALSI) and Amis d’Afrique.  

When the Association Tchadienne pour le Bien-Être Familial (ASTBEF) was formed in 1991, no one was under any illusions that it was faced with an almost impossible task as the international indices for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) demonstrate. Some suggested that it would be overwhelmed and would simply not survive. Over 20 years down the line, the organisation is thriving, thanks in large part to an immensely committed team of staff, over 1,000 volunteers, peer educators, and a strong youth action movement. The organisation runs static clinics and a number of mobile operations which offer voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV, post-abortion care, antenatal and post-natal care, treatment of opportunistic infections, treatment of male and female infertility, pre-marital counselling, and advocacy against harmful cultural practices such as female genital mutilation and gender based violence. ASTBEF has made a considerable impact on the country’s SRH activity by integrating family planning with maternal and infant health, HIV and AIDS services, and youth-friendly education programmes and service provision. ASTBEF works in partnership with the government’s Global Fund National Coordination Council, and the High Commission for Population and Human Resources National Reproductive Health Programme Supporting Committee. Non-governmental organisation (NGO) links include the Comité d’information et de liaison and the Organisation des Acteurs non Etatiques (OANET). Private sector partners include PPFAI, NACA, HAPAC, SFH, The Central Bank of Nigeria, CAP Plc, and Nigeria Breweries, and donors who support ASTBEF’s work include UNFPA, UNICEF,  PNUD, Médecins du Monde, the US Embassy, PSR, GTZ, the Ministry of Social Action and Family Affairs.  

Located off the eastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, Comoros is an archipelago of 4 islands at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel between northeaster Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar. At a little over 1,800 square kilometres, it’s the third smallest nation in Africa, but has over 700,000 inhabitants. It is one of the most densely populated countries on the continent. A third of the population are women of reproductive age and the absence of essential health services presents major risks to their health and survival. High fertility levels allied to low contraceptive uptake, and widespread poverty combine to drive high risks related to sexual and reproductive health (SRH). In response, the Association Comorienne pour le Bien-Être Famille (ASCOBEF) is delivering a comprehensive range of sexual and reproductive health programmes and services. These include family planning, gynaecological counselling and services, antenatal care, information, education and communication (IEC) programmes and behaviour change communications (BCC) activities to promote health-seeking behaviour. It is also playing a major advocacy role in the fight against gender-based violence, and has provided extensive victim support. The majority of ASCOBEF's clients are poor, marginalized, socially excluded and/or under-served. ASCOBEF deliver services and programmes supported by volunteers, Youth Action Movement members and peer educators. ASCOBEF works in partnership with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including Réseau Femmes et Développement. It receives financial support from UNFPA, the Global Fund, UNICEF and the World Health Organization. Contacts Website: www.ascobef.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Association-Comorienne-Pour-Le-Bien-Etre-De-La-Familla-Ascobef-1514140762210292/

The Association Congolaise pour le Bien-Etre Familial (ACBEF) opened its doors for the first time in 1987. Then it was a small operation dedicated to attending to the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs of the urban poor. 25 years later, ACBEF reaches out to the whole country through a network of over 100 community-based distributors (CBDs) backed by static clinics and permanent staff. In addition, ACBEF relies on over 1,000 volunteers, including fully-trained peer educators and a Youth Action Movement.  ACBEF provides a comprehensive range of services covering integrated family palnning, voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), prevention and management of HIV and AIDS, post-abortion care, antenatal and post-natal care, youth-friendly education and information projects, contraceptive and laboratory services. Stigma and taboos around HIV and AIDS are strong in Congo, and ACBEF is engaged in major re-education and sensitization on this front. ACBEF aims its work at a wide public, with particular emphasis on young people (aged 25 and under), internally displaced people, sex workers and women of child-bearing age. Work occurs in both rural and urban areas. With high visibility in the national media, ABCEF is making major inroads in SRH in a very difficult environment. ABCEF works in close partnership with the government’s ministries of Health, Foreign Affairs, and Gender, and with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including Jeunesse Action Sida. ABCEF receives financial support from the European Union, UNFPA and the Congolese Government.   Website: http://www.acbef.org/