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2011
Annual Programme narrative report
Students and Youth Working on Reproductive Health Action Team
(SAYWHAT)
February 09, 2012
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Executive
Summary
The Students
And Youth Working on Reproductive Health Action Team (SAYWHAT) is
a student based movement that seeks to address sexual and reproductive
health needs of students in tertiary institutions. Its interventions
are designed around three broad and related strategies of Information
and Knowledge sharing, Networking and Advocacy and Capacity building
and Support provision.
The year 2011
saw an improved advocacy in SAYWHAT's work through engagement
with policy makers including parliamentarians. The re-introduction
of the student loans and the eventual debate on sanitary wear in
parliament are some indicators of well-sustained advocacy that SAYWHAT
has taken a lead on. As part of its lobbying for commodity provision
SAYWHAT managed to mobilise 300 sanitary wear bins from UNFPA which
shall be distributed in 7 colleges in Harare as a pilot.
2011 saw SAYWHAT's
utilization of ICT's in SRHR interventions for students increasing
and this includes its high presence online and high interactivity
through social media. In 2011 alone SAYWHAT managed to send bulk
SMS to 12 563 students across the country on different SRHR thematic
areas.
The Web for
Life which is an initiative of the Students' And Youth Working
on reproductive Health Action Team has strengthened the active participation
and involvement of female students in SRHR Advocacy at local, national
and regional level in 2011.
The web for
life capacitated female students through trainings and mentorship
leading to increased understanding and knowledge on young women's
sexual and reproductive health and rights and HIV, and ensured that
these issues are part of the core business of youths' and
women's organizations and movements.
To further move
its vision for a gender-just society of students who fully enjoy
their sexual and reproductive health and rights SAYWHAT introduced
the Mugota/Men's Talk platform for male students' engagement
into gender issues to compliment the web for life initiatives.
Towards its
vision of support SAYWHAT through the PLUS project supported 27
students living with HIV with CD4 count test services and reached
out to 707 males and 680 females through mobile VCT. The same project
has initiated a positive circuit that has provided positive living
mentorship to 17 students living with HIV. To generate reserves
to support positive living advocacy, SAYWHAT in 2011 has initiated
an income-generating project that generated a 30% profit margin
in its first year alone.
The period under
review has also seen SAYWHAT enhancing youth friendly service provision
in four colleges through conducting a 5 day YFS management training
to 54 participants who included HIV and AIDS Coordinators and college
nurses. A 2 day coalition building training was conducted with 20
students from four colleges to enhance the capacity of the LCC structures
to utilize locally available resources and networks that provide
SRH services and information. SAYWHAT conducted 11 orientation programs
in 11 colleges that reached out to 2661 and enhanced first year
students` capacity to assess their risk to SRH challenges including
HIV infection.
The year 2011
has seen positive results in the work of SAYWHAT and 2012 will only
provide more space for consolidating the gains and ensure that students'
participation remains central to the work that SAYWHAT does.
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