By Vincent Gunde

An independent consultant firm hired by the Canadian Organization for Development through Education ( CODE) – Impala Insights, says the Innovations in Health, Rights, and Development (iHEARD), has increased realization of sexual and reproductive Health – related Human Rights ( SRHR) by the most marginalized and vulnerable rights holders in Malawi particularly adolescent girls and young women in Dowa, Ntchisi and Lilongwe Rural districts.

Impala Insights said the project has increased uptake of gender – transformative, age – appropriate SRHR behavior and practices, including demand for SRH services by the community.MHRRC intensifies citizen engagement activities in Dowa, Ntchisi, Nsanje

The Consultant firm said iHEARD has increased capacity of influencers, teachers, traditional leaders, and community health workers to ensure that adolescent girls and young women are not left behind in issues of Sexual Reproductive Health and Human Rights (SRHR).

Presenting iHEARD End line outcome evaluation to the District executive committee, Consultant Abel Mauluka Nyoni, said iHEARD worked along three connected lines for five years in the fields of Education and Life Skills, Health services, and communication and advocacy dialogue and youth voice.

Mauluka said radio became the most – trusted source of SRHR information claiming that 76.99 percent of young people satisfied with the SRHR information that is available to them.

He said girls and young women are exercising their rights saying 96.7 percent adolescent girls and young women are realizing their Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights and 98.7 percent modern – contraceptive awareness.Dowa Council Water sector conducts DCT validation on water points

“There’s increased demand for cervical cancer screening, young women asked for a service, the programme could not fund,” said Mauluka.

CODE Coordinator under iHEARD project Agatha Njunga, said over five years the project was in Dowa and other districts, there have been an improvement in SRHR amongst adolescent girls and young women,and adolescent boys and young men.

Njunga said there have been an increasing demand for contraceptives because of different interventions saying CODE took the services to the youth through outreach programs such as clubs, radio, open days and drama to share information on SRHR.

She said in schools CODE has provided puberty books and other resource materials that is relevant to the youth for information on SRHR.

The project coordinator said statistics are showing that Malawi is high up in terms of teen pregnancies in the Sub – Saharan region saying this has led to young people dropping out of school, early pregnancies, and prevalence rate of HIV/ AIDS because they lack information.

” Credible information to young people is very crucial in order for one to make the right decision, iHEARD project was addressing that,” said Njunga.

In his remarks, Dowa District Council’s Director of Planning and Development Phillimon Maseko, said it is a sad moment by losing a partner observing that iHEARD has registered progress in the communities that the information and knowledge on SRHR has gone higher among adolescent girls and young women in the district.

Maseko pleaded with other partners to fill the gap that iHEARD has left appealing to CODE to come back in the district not only on SRHR but other interventions.Over 142 projects lined up for Dowa District Council’s Reformed CDF

The five years Innovations in Health, Rights and Development (iHEARD) project was being implemented in the three districts of Ntchisi, Dowa and Lilongwe Rural with support from Global Affairs Canada (GAC) amounting to 12.1 million Canadian Dollars.