Frequently asked questions |
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Do you have a question about our work or the organisation? Perhaps it has already been answered in our Frequently Asked Questions below. If you have a question which which is not answered here, please contact us.
1. Tell me more about Marie Stopes International Australia (MSIA) MSIA is an Australian, independent, non-religious, not-for-profit organisation. We provide vital sexual and reproductive healthcare education and services. We work in low-income developing communities in the Asia Pacific region, as well as in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Dr. Marie Stopes was a family planning pioneer in Europe at the turn of the 19th century. She fought enormous prejudice to establish the first family planning clinic in London in 1915, believing strongly that until women could determine the numbers of children they had, they would never be able to lift themselves out of poverty and ill health. Her work continues today through Marie Stopes projects throughout the UK, Australia and the world.
3. How does the organisation work? MSIA works with communities, local and in-country partners, and governments. We help build capacity within communities and offer technical assistance and training.
MSIA supports in 10 counties in the Pacific Asia region, and the Marie Stopes International Global Partnership help communities in over 40 counties around the world. Read here to learn more about our country programs.
MSIA is committed to upholding the fundamental right of individuals and couples to decide freely and without coercion the number and spacing of their children and their right to obtain information, education and the services to do so. We believe in the fundamental human right to have Children by Choice not Chance.
You can donate to MSIA in a number of different ways; credit card, cheque or electronic funds transfer (EFT). You can also set your donation to be a one-off donation or a fixed monthly donation withdrawn from your account, or credit card, via a direct debit system set up by us. Finding out more about donating is simple, just visit our how you can help section, where every purchase you make is a donation to our programs, improving the health and quality of life of women, men and their families.
MSIA’s policy standards state that a minimum of 85% of the funds that we raise are used directly within our country programs. The remaining 15% covers costs associated with administration costs, such as promotional of our work, processing donations and financial costs. In 2008 the percentage of money we spent directly on our projects was 91.76%. For examples and more detailed information go to our annual reports section in the library.
8. Why does the Marie Stopes International (MSI) Global Partnership charge fees? Evidence suggests that most clients, even those in poorer communities, are willing and able to make a contribution towards the cost of their care. In fact, we have found that client actually value the services and education they receive more when they are paying for the service. Charging these fees also increases the sustainability of the work in developing countries. The Marie Stopes International (MSI) Global Partnership's experience is that well-designed and efficiently run programs with modest overheads can recover a significant proportion of their costs by charging affordable fees. Programs that can help sustain themselves are not only better able to survive fluctuations in donor funding but are also able to build up resources which can then be used if needed. Working in tandem with the principle of cost recovery is project cross-subsidisation. For example, where a centre, usually in an urban setting, is able to generate a surplus, this is used to subsidise the activities of a less profitable centre that may be in a rural location or one that serves a lower-income community.
9. Is MSIA able to provide funding for other organisations or projects? No, unfortunately, MSIA is not a grant giving body and is not able to fund non-MSIA Partner projects or organisations. To help fund its own work the MSIA Partnership receives funding from a variety of donor organisations, from global institutions and large charitable foundations to private individuals.
10. Can I work as a volunteer in the MSIA office? Yes. Our office has regular and casual volunteers doing all sorts of interesting and essential office jobs which help us achieve our goals and mission. Volunteers get great satisfaction from helping in a positive way, in a great team environment. To find out more about being a MSIA volunter here.
11. Does MSIA have its own brands of contraceptives? Yes it does! Vixen Condoms is the first condom brand in the world to be designed by women for women, and is a project established and administered by MSIA in conjunction with feminine hygeine brand, Cottons. Vixen is presented in a beautiful illustrated tin, which can fit straight into a handbag – moving condom branding away from awkward and masculine packaging. $1 from every pack of Vixen is donated back to MSIA to help us with the work we do in developing communities. Additionally, we also help support another condom brand, SNAKE Condoms. SNAKE are Australia’s first brand of condoms for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth, created by Maire Stopes Australia. For more information about Vixen go to the Vixen Condoms website or to learn more about SNAKE visit the SNAKE Condoms website. To buy Vixen or SNAKE right now simply visit our online shop.
12. Where can I find information on Sexual and Reproductive health in developing communities? A great place to look for information on sexual and reproductive health is in our online library. Here you will find the latest reports on sexual and reproductive health globally, links to other useful websites, and copies of our latest annual report.
13. Where can I find information about safe-sex, contraceptives and sexually transmitted infections (STIs)? To find out more information about safe-sex, contraceptives, STIs and HIV – as well as information on sexual healthcare services here in Australia click here. |
