outreach

Imagine that there is no doctor or nurse within a 50 km radius of your home.  No pharmacy or chemist nearby to visit if you need to access medication.  Imagine that you need urgent medical attention and there is no medical centre or hospital unless you travel for hours on unmade roads and mud tracks.  You have no car and no money to pay for transportation.  This is the reality facing many of the communities that Marie Stopes works with, which is why outreach programs are essential in providing access to healthcare services where often there is none.

Marie Stopes works with many geographically isolated, impoverished communities.  By providing these communities with sexual and reproductive health information at health promotion sessions, this can encourage people to change potentially risky behaviour.  Additionally, often Marie Stopes is the only health care provider giving women access to medical services in the field.  Outreach sessions are equipped with health practitioners who are trained in all aspects of family planning and can often even provide general health services and advice if there is no other health care provider to do so.

Her Story

One woman who attended a Marie Stopes outreach session said, ‘Before Marie Stopes I didn’t know much about family planning.  But since they came to visit, I am very happy that Marie Stopes is raising awareness.  The community educators visited my village and explained about the different types of family planning methods available.  We women have so many problems and with the help of the Marie Stopes doctor and nurse I now understand that family planning is very important.’