PowerPoint Presentation

Fostering Opportunities in Rural Southern Areas in Egypt (FORSA): An Integrated Intervention to Empower Women and Raise Community Awareness About FP/RH/MCH IssuesReem Mehanna & Alaa HassanPathfinder International Egypt

April 2014

contextPoverty rate in Upper Egypt reaches 39.1% (UNFPA)Conditions aggravated by recent political turmoilLow levels of knowledge of MCH/RH/FPPervasive sociocultural barriers to gender equality, especially in rural areas:Resistance to women working outside homePrevalent patriarchal norms regarding womens involvement in decision-making and control of finances

Pathfinders responseUSAID-funded FORSA project integrates:Poverty alleviationWomens empowermentHealth improvement3interventionWorked in 2 of Egypts poorest governorates, Assiut and Souhag (Upper Egypt)Created jobs for 1,468 Community Outreach Workers of reproductive age (mostly young women) from 75 rural communitiesBuilt their capacities in interpersonal communication, counseling, and FP/RH/MCH issuesThrough household visits, they worked to raise awareness of 112,500 women in their communities about FP/RH/MCH and nutrition4InterventionTrain WRA (mostly young women) on IPC, counselling, MCH/RH/FP issuesTrained Outreach WorkersAll outreach workers aim at raising awareness of 112,500 WRA about MCH/RH/FP issuesSelected outreach workers receive TOT for Egyptian Women Speak Out (EWSO) workshopOutreach workers train selected women on life skills, womens empowerment issues, project management skills, and handicrafts in EWSO workshops 5

Household visitsOutreach workers visit each household at least once per month Each outreach worker is responsible for 100 householdsOutreach workers assess the needs of each family and tailors their health messages accordingly. For example, if the household has a women who is breastfeeding, the outreach worker will share information about breastfeeding, nutrition, hygiene of the baby, and so on. If the woman is pregnant, she will talk about safe delivery. Other times, she will spread awareness of healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy.6Evaluation MethodsCapacity building of outreach workers assessed through: Pre- and post-training testsFocus group discussionsIn-depth interviews

Awareness-raising activities assessed through pre- and post-intervention household surveys:Random sample from the 112,500 visited women compared to a control sample7ResultsPre-intervention household survey revealed the following gaps in knowledge:Pregnancy spacingFamily planningChildrearing and nutrition

Post-intervention household survey currently in progress

8Results (Cont.)Pre- and post-test scores of outreach workers before and after training assessing knowledge and skills (out of 40)Score achieved on test9Results (Cont.)Qualitative assessment of womens empowerment activities through FGDs held with male relatives of the women targeted by empowerment activities revealed: Positive change in opinions and attitudes about womens empowermentGreater acceptance of women working outside the homePositive change in opinions and attitudes about womens control of financial resources ChallengesLimited capacity of outreach workers in disadvantaged intervention sites (poorest, under-served, least educated)

Cultural norms concerning resistance to women working outside the home

Deeply rooted misconceptions, unsafe/ineffective practices, and controversies related to FP/RH issues11Lessons learnedIn societies similar to rural Egypt, it is insufficient to provide employment opportunities for women without also engaging menValues clarification and sensitization of male stakeholders and gatekeepers facilitates sustainable changerecommendationsFORSA should be scaled up to additional areas to promote womens empowerment and knowledge of key FP/RH/MCH issuesFor more information contact Reem Mehanna at rmehanna@pathfinder.org and Alaa Hassan at ahassan@pathfinder.org.

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