REPSSI Enhancing SRHR Uptake 2019-2021
Contribution ID : SE-0-SE-6-12436This website displays open data about Swedish aid, which shows when, to whom and for what purpose Swedish aid is paid out, as well as what results it has produced. This page contains information about one of the contributions financed with Swedish aid.
The Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative (REPSSI) was established in 2002 to address the psychosocial support (PSS) needs of girls, boys and youth affected by poverty, conflict and HIV in East and Southern Africa (ESA). REPSSI has since grown into a regional organisation and leading provider of technical support with varying levels of presence and programm...
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The Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative (REPSSI) was established in 2002 to address the psychosocial support (PSS) needs of girls, boys and youth affected by poverty, conflict and HIV in East and Southern Africa (ESA). REPSSI has since grown into a regional organisation and leading provider of technical support with varying levels of presence and programming in Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Headquartered in South Africa, REPSSI is registered Non-Profit Organisation under the South Africa's Section 21 Companies Act. To date, it has Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with more than 7 government ministries and departments in the countries of operation. It also collaborates with various UN Agencies, academic institutions and CSOs in the course of implementing its programmes. In 2018, the organisation signed an MoU with the Southern African Development Community (SADC), formalising a long-standing collaboration through which support for the development and domestication of child and youth focused strategies and protocols is provided. Funding partners include the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC), USAID, Frontline AIDS and corporate entities in some countries e.g. First National Bank (FNB) in Namibia. Sweden, through the Regional SRHR Team, has been providing financial support to REPSSI since 2002. The most recent grant, amounting to 45 MSEK was in form of core support to the organisation's 2016-2020 Strategic Implementation Plan over the period January 2016 to March 2019. REPSSI has submitted a funding application to Sweden for a three-year, 40 MSEK programme aimed at enhancing access to, and uptake of, sexual and reproductive health and rights for girls, boys and youth in the ESA region, thus improving their psychosocial and mental well-being. The expected outcomes are: -Reduced early and untended pregnancies through psychosocial skills that enhance access to SRH information & services; -Improved HIV outcomes through psychosocial skills that enhance HIV prevention and access to services; -Improved outcomes for adolescent mothers though PSS-informed maternal and child health and care; -Reduced levels of child marriage; -Reduced gender-based violence; and -Improved SRHR and social connectedness for adolescent girls and boys in humanitarian emergency settings. The proposed intervention will be implemented in partnership with the Regional Interagency Task Team for East and Southern Africa (RIATT ESA), a regional advocacy platform of organisations working together to influence global, regional and national policy formulation and implementation for children and their families. Since it's establishment in 2006, RIATT ESA has been supported by Sweden as a nested entity within REPSSI. Should more resources become available in future, the intervention could be expanded to include an innovative study to explore teenage pregnancy and the sexual and reproductive health and rights of adolescents and their young children affected and infected with HIV in the region. The study has been developed by Professor Lorraine Sherr of University College London and Professor Lucie Cluver of Oxford University and University of Cape Town. Of the 40 MSEK being requested from Sweden, 3,2 MSEK is earmarked for RIATT-ESA as a nested partner. REPSSI, being the agreement partner, will be responsible for all the administrative aspects of the RIATT-ESA component of the grant, including accounting, staff employment contracts, external audits, providing office space within REPSSI offices, and external audits all in accordance with REPSSI's risk management, financial and administrative policies.
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Result
The evaluation concluded that the programme was contextually relevant, responsive to the SRH and psychosocial challenges in the implementation countries, and effective in achieving its objectives. The evaluation found that the programme led to mainly positive outcomes with improvements in knowledge, skills, and practices regarding SRH behaviours as well as handling psychosocial and mental health challenges. Qualitative responses showed that the programme contributed towards influencing the return of girls to school following pregnancy or marriage. The evaluation also noted that childrens perception and understanding of GBV had improved because of programme activities. Results from the evaluation per expected outcome include: 1) Reduced early and unintended pregnancies through psychosocial skills that enhance access to SRH information and services The percentage of participants who prefer to become a parent at an older age (25 years and above) increased. In Angola, baseline survey showed that 38% of project participants would want to become a parent over the age of 25; this increased to 55% at endline. In Zambia, an increase was seen from 84% to 90%. 2) Improved HIV outcomes through psychosocial skills that enhance HIV prevention and access to services Adolescents became more likely to open up and feel safe to talk about HIV with their families, caregivers, and/or their teachers at school. In Kenya, baseline and endline surveys in project implementation sites showed an increase from 81% to 86% regarding participants who indicated that they felt safe to talk about HIV with their families or caregivers. Additionally, at baseline, 58% of the participants indicated that they felt safe to entrust their teachers with their HIV status; this increased by 15% at endline, to 73%. 3) Improved outcomes for adolescent mothers though PSS-informed maternal and child health and care The evaluation suggests that PSS informed maternal and child healthcare services have contributed to adolescent mothers becoming happier in their role as parents, and that they are getting more affectionate towards their children. In Malawi, baseline and endline surveys saw a 22% increase (from 43% to 65%) regarding adolescent mothers who indicated that they felt more affectionate towards their children. Additionally, a decrease in parental stress was recorded amongst adolescent mothers. 4) Reduced levels of child marriage Increased awareness, in Tanzania and Lesotho, of the harmful practices that lead to child marriages; this is on account of the continued engagement, dialogues and conversations with parents, communities, including traditional and faith leaders. In Lesotho, the proportion of project participants who engage in activities to prevent child marriages increased from 12% at baseline to 53% at endline. In Tanzania, faith leaders have taken the responsibility in their communities to challenge current practices that lead to child marriages, advocate against child marriages, and influence policy change. 5) Reduced gender-based violence The programme recorded an increase in GBV awareness amongst targeted communities, more community members partaking in activities to prevent GBV, and more community members speaking against GBV with their friends, families and colleagues. In Eswatini and South Africa, baseline and endline surveys suggest an increase in participants engaging in activities to prevent GBV (from 26% to 82%), and more respondents telling friends not at their school about their victimisation experience (17% at baseline to 25% at endline). In Eswatini, an increase was recorded of participants that are speaking against GBV with their friends (from 5% at baseline to 77% at endline), and a reduced number of participants who believe in male domination in households (from 60% to 26%). 6) Improved SRHR and social connectedness for adolescent girls and boys in humanitarian emergency settings An increase, in Uganda, in the proportion of participants who indicated ability to stop or control worrying as a result of being in humanitarian emergency settlements (from 47% at baseline to 70% at endline). In Uganda, more than half (57%) of respondents showed a decrease in anxiety scores from baseline to endline.
The goal of the proposed intervention is to to enhance access to, and uptake of sexual and reproductive health and rights for girls, boys and youth in East and Southern Africa thus improving their psychosocial and mental well being. The expected outcomes are: 1. Reduced early and untended pregnancies through psychosocial skills that enhance access to SRH information and services; 2. Improved HIV outcomes through psychosocial skills that enhance HIV prevention and access to services; 3. Improved outcomes for adolescent mothers though PSS-informed maternal and child health and care; 4. Reduced levels of child marriage; 5. Reduced gender-based violence; and 6. Improved SRHR and social connectedness for adolescent girls and boys in humanitarian emergency settings.
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