Canada’s High Commission here yesterday launched a $343.6m reproductive rights programme that aims to widen services to women and girls in the hinterland along with Venezuelan migrants.
The CDN$2.25m Enhancing Quality, Access and Logistics (EQUAL) of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) project will be implemented by UNFPA through the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association and Help and Shelter.
Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Mark Berman along with Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr Vindhya Persaud and Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) sub-regional office for the Caribbean, Jewel Quallo-Rosberg signed the project work plan during the official launch at Berman’s Bel Air residence.
The main objective of the project is to inform women and girls in Guyana, including those from indigenous communities and Venezuela migrants about their sexual reproductive health with an emphasis on helping them to understand their rights when it comes to making decisions about their bodies and by strengthening systems to prevent and respond to instances of Gender Based Violence (GBV).
It also aims to enhance access to and use of quality SRHR information and services, especially for survivors of GBV in regions 1, 7, 8 and 9.
In her welcome remarks, Rosberg said the UNFPA mission to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every child birth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled, is linked to the EQUAL SRHR project which aims to improve the quality and accessibility of sexual and reproductive health and rights, particularly for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.
She said the UNFPA believes that initiatives such as SRHR are imperative to assist Guyana to attain its development goals. “We aim to improve access to the services to women, girls and vulnerable population. Essentially, those who are most at risk,” Rosberg said.
Zero preventable
According to Rosberg, the UNFPA remains committed to supporting the Caribbean to achieve its three transformative results by 2030; zero preventable maternal deaths, zero unmet need for family planning and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices. “Our goal is to always ensure that no one is left behind,” she said.
Guyana is the second country in the Caribbean to have the EQUAL SRHR project. The first was Trinidad and Tobago.
Berman during brief remarks told the gathering that the launch of the project comes at a “strategic” time.
He said recently there have been a number of affirmations in terms of gender equality and empowerment of women and girls to be achieved with the sustainable development goals.
However, Berman said globally, accessibility, affordability, sustainability, equality, accountability and availability of sexual and reproductive health without discrimination continue to be a major issue. “The lack of access to sexual reproductive health continues to contribute to gender inequality, discrimination, to violence and to disempowerment,” he said.
He stated that over the years, the Government of Guyana has made “significant” strides to help women and girls who are victims of gender-based violence. To this end, he said the EQUAL SRHR project will help women and girls to have body autonomy and to make essential decisions about their own bodies.
According to Berman, Canada is pleased to work with Guyana to support the project and not only work with public and health care providers but with civil society to increase access and quality of sexual and reproductive health services provided to women and girls. “We are also proud to strengthen systems to prevent instances of gender-based violence,” he said.
During her remarks, Persaud said the Government’s focus is to ensure that there is continued emphasis on the triggers, factors and causes which “inevitably” lead to the widening or continuation of gender equality. “I want to say that as we tackle sexual and reproductive health, it is important that we don’t look at it at a narrow way but we look at it…in the wider context because it has impacts on family life, morbidity and mortality for children and women,” she explained.
Imperative
According to Persaud, it is imperative that when sexual and reproductive health is being addressed, the focus is not only on the formal avenues of getting education and awareness out there but also to establish creative ideas to educate people to make better choices. “As we embark on another initiative…..I believe that it would only complement the work that would have already been started and amplify what the efforts were when it comes to access,” she said.
Persaud noted that access is “everything”. “Because we can have all the best services available and if it’s not accessible by the people who need it at the most critical time then we would not be doing the kind of thing we want to do as the Government of Guyana,” she said.
Like awareness, Persaud said training is also critical in order to succeed. “To ensure that there is widespread training across the hinterland community. So that from a child in a home or someone in the community, we can have a first responder type of mechanism where people are aware of what to do, where to go and how to get it done”.
She further noted that the area of sexual and reproductive health is a wide one and persons tend to get “caught up” when it is being discussed through “narrow” lens. “We must remember that every moment that we spend on this issue, it could be a life saver, it could be pushing someone to make a wise choice and it could be reducing staggering numbers when it comes to health issues notably” Sexually Transmitted Infections, Persaud said.
The Minister further stressed the importance of equal rights to access the services provided. “When someone comes for our services, there is absolutely no discrimination. Which means whether someone is a migrant or a local person, they benefit equally from our services across all of our sectors,” said.
The EQUAL SRHR project aligns with Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy that focuses on closing gaps in the sexual and reproductive health and rights for women and girls globally, UNFPA’s 2022-2025 Strategic Plan, as well as Guyana National Sexual and Reproductive Health policy.
It will contribute to the achievement of SDG Goal 3 on ensuring healthy lives and well-being for all and the SDG Gender Equality and Empowerment of women and girls.
