River Africa partnered with Chisi School and CCAP Domasi Mission to deliver comprehensive Reproductive Health services to young boys and girls via a reproductive health club.

 

The club will deliver effective strategies that will help young people make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health, we believe

that this is critical in their development

 

We know that too many young people on Chisi Island have limited information about Reproductive Health (RH) and many others face barriers when they attempt to seek Reproductive Health Services. Our club curriculum will be delivered after school and will be embedded in the regular curriculum.

 

This ensures that young people are afforded full unfettered access to a comprehensive package of RP services delivered in a sympathetic and respectful environment, empowering both young girls and boys in the process.

 

Further, this will improve health outcomes on the Island, thus the Club will contribute to the achieving of National and International Development Goals on maternal and child health, gender equity, and HIV prevention.

 

 

Malawi Facts

 

From NATIONAL REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH  STRATEGY 2006 – 2010 June

 

Malawi’s current population is 11,937,934, with females making up approximately 51% of this figure (NSO 2004). Roughly 85% of the population is found in the rural area (NSO 2004). The average annual growth rate between 1993 and 2003 was 2.1 (WHO,2005), attributed mainly to a high total fertility rate of 6.0 (MDHS 2004).

 

Life expectancy has declined from 44 in 1992 (MDHS 1992) to 40 years in 2005 (MGDS 2006). Estimated HIV prevalence among adults aged 15 to 49 stands at 14.0% of which 55.7% are women. HIV prevalence among 15-24 year old pregnant women stands at 14.3% (NAC, Sentinel Surveillance 2005).

 

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world with an estimated GNP per capita of US $ 170.00 in 2000 (World Bank, 2004). The poverty headcount and extreme poverty headcount measured by consumption-based on poverty line in 2005 stand at 52.4% and 22.4% respectively (MGDS, 2006) while around a third of the households (33%) are categorised as food-insecure (MGDS,2006.)