Mini-Pharmacies in the Western Region/Kenia
Advancement of the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents
Together with the German Foundation for Worldpopulation (DSW) and with the financial support of the Vienna Magistrat for Foreign Relations, SWI had the chance to realize this important project in the year 20005. Western region belongs to the poorest regions in Kenia and the Kenyan youth do not really have access to sexual education and contraceptives. In the course of this project, we built five mini-pharmacies:an important step for the advancement of health in the region. The Access to condoms, contraceptives and basic pharmaceuticals were improved through this project. Those mini-pharmacies offer youth also the possibility to earn little money and to help improve the health situation of their community. The pharmacies are added on already existing youth club. Hence, they are important contact points for advice, discussion and education for young people between 10 and 24 years.
The project was realized in cooperation with the local organisation, Nekeki - a longtime partner of DSW. The youth center, Nekeki Multipurpose Centre, which was build by the DSW offers advice and health services and serves as a youth-friendly clinic. In the course of the project we were able to equip this center with condoms, contraceptives and other pharmaceuticals. It was an important project indeed because for many young people from the region, this place is the one and only possibility to get such life-saving products.
SWI Conference 2006
Gender Health from HIV to Violence: Women are Breaking the Silence
All over the world, women have led brave and inspiring campaigns against HIV and violence against women. They have achieved dramatic changes in laws, policies and practices.The Conference on Gender Health from HIV to Violence: Women are Breaking the Silence of the Austrian Foundation on World Population and International Cooperation (SWI) will bring together 4 leading, empowered women from three different continents: Asia, the Middle East and Africa, who are breaking barriers and gaining ground in the battle against these issues.
The forum, which will be held in Vienna at the end of June 2006, will take the form of a round-table discussion with individual presentations, directed debate and the opportunity for networking. Through the coming together of stakeholders involved in the improvement of health and living conditions in the regions, the conference aims to increase awareness on incessant problems such as HIV and VAW (Violence Against Women) which are a hindrance to the accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals as well as International Conference on Population and Development objectives.
The gathering provides an excellent venue for discussion, dialogue and debate among stakeholders on inter-linked gender, sexuality and rights concerns and in the process look to solutions that address the practical needs of both men and women to effectively address health problems in this region. It would be a chance to exchange best-practice models and the sharing of know-how in addressing these pressing problems that continue to haunt women and plague the world.