HEALTH
NEWS FEED – BOLIVIA RISE ABOVE!
We love acronyms, especially if they have a double meaning. Take ARRIBA (Achieving Reproductive Rights in Bolivian Adolescents): The word is also Spanish for “above.” Our goal with this program is to work with community groups to help adolescents rise “above” by helping them understand their sexual and reproductive health rights. What does that mean? It means they can make free and informed decisions related to their sexuality, have safe sexual experiences and access reproductive health services. It also means that they can choose whether, when and whom to marry. We’re at the four-year mark of this five-year program, and we’ve reached 20,000 Bolivians, including 9,000 adolescent girls, 7,000 boys and 1,700 health care providers. 12 , 500 adolescents learned about their sexual and reproductive health rights and how to prevent gender-based violence. Liz is one of those adolescents. “One of my biggest dreams is for my town to be a place where no one experiences sexism,” says the 16-year-old Champions of Change Club participant. “All the [gender-equality and self-esteem] training sessions and workshops I attended have changed my way of seeing things. I understand my rights now.”
How do latrines help keep children in school? WATCH THE VIDEO
SPOTLIGHT Mini WASH cycle Small but mighty projects have a big impact.
Our WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) programs are part of multi-million-dollar projects, but we created a $300,000 three- year project in Cambodia with supporter Michael J. Waring. The goal of the Kids in Class Fund was to improve the WASH conditions in 136 villages, 75 schools and 16 communes in the Siem Reap province in northwestern Cambodia. “We wanted to achieve open-defecation-free [ODF] status, which means 100% of households have access to an individual or shared latrine,” explains George Yap, a WASH advisor at Plan International Canada. The result? “In 2022, we achieved that in all but
15 villages. And in those 15 villages, the coverage now ranges from 62% to 98%. These results show the powerful impact these smaller projects can have. Everyone benefits, especially children, who are at risk of developing diarrhea from drinking water contaminated with fecal matter. If they’re sick, they miss school. 32 , 375 students, teachers and community members, after three years, have improved access to clean water and education about proper hygiene.
READ THE IMPACT REPORT
2022 Annual Report | DIGEST 21
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