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Ma\u2019an<\/em>\u2014which means \u201ctogether\u201d\u2014operates in four districts of Sohag governorate, an area where just over one-quarter of married women use modern contraception, and the majority of families live in poverty. Women have an average of more than four children in their lifetimes, often without the means to support them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ma\u2019an project applies Pathfinder\u2019s experience in Egypt, and uses a strategic market-based approach\u2014one that encourages demand for and acceptance of family planning, reproductive health, and maternal health services, while improving the quality and reach of those services and empowering women and girls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ma\u2019an specifically focuses on reaching young married women and first-time parents by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sohbet El Kheir, a local NGO, will lead the Ma\u2019an project and oversee subgrants to five additional local NGOs. Our in-depth work with local NGOs in Egypt, like Sohbet El Kheir, has enabled them to play a lead implementation role in projects funded by international donors. Through Pathfinder\u2019s FORSA project, for example, we strengthened capacity of local NGOs in the areas of proposal writing, networking, and organizational and financial management.<\/p>\n\n\n Sohbet El Khair NGO for Health Education and Community Development cooperated with Pathfinder International during four projects, and this cooperation had a clear impact on the development of institutional capacities and work within the association.<\/p>\nSohbet Eh Khair, Staff Representative<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n When communities are thoughtfully engaged in implementing a program, they develop a sense of ownership, take their roles seriously, and do their best to involve more people from their surrounding community. People trust those they know best, so engaging community members as advocates with each other is a credible way to provide information on sensitive topics and gives the approach great potential for scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Ma\u2019an builds on Pathfinder\u2019s experience with community engagement through its \u201cAmbassadors of Change\u201d approach. Ambassadors of Change refer to community members who will be engaged to work as local advocates in their communities. Through this approach, 6,000 community members (3,000 women and 3,000 men) will be engaged to encourage acceptance and use of family planning, reproductive and maternal health care, multiplying the project\u2019s effect through the inherent power of community members talking to each other about health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ma\u2019an will use updated versions of tools developed under Pathfinder\u2019s Takamol project, many of which Egypt\u2019s Ministry of Health and Population continues to use today. This includes curricula on improving quality of family planning and reproductive health care, integration of family planning and maternal health care, and guidance on how to engage religious leaders in driving acceptance and demand for services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Religion is central to communities in Sohag and throughout Egypt, and Ma\u2019an will continue to incorporate this powerful approach. Our approach builds on experience collaborating closely with Muslim and Christian religious leaders (who are both women and men) to reach communities with information on family planning and encourage the empowerment of women and girls. This includes debunking misperceptions about the family planning, engaging men to support women\u2019s use of family planning, and reducing the social stigma related to talking about these topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Women having power over household decisions is the first step to their empowerment, and family planning is essential to women exercising their decision-making power. Ma\u2019an will work through local NGOs to empower women with access to family planning information and services and the ability to tap into the opportunities that come along with reproductive autonomy. This women\u2019s empowerment work builds on Pathfinder\u2019s work in the aftermath of the 2011 Egyptian political revolution. With Egypt\u2019s economy in shambles and multitudes struggling to get by, Pathfinder\u2019s FORSA project provided countless opportunities to women and communities in underserved and underprivileged regions of Assuit and Sohag governorates, including training and jobs, family planning and reproductive health information and services, and assistance to women starting their own businesses\u2014many that still operate today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ma\u2019an is a project with great potential for scale and sustainability, given its approaches that are rooted in local systems and communities. Pathfinder will continue to work closely with the local NGOs administering the program to ensure well-rooted interventions. We will work through our local partners to scale up the most successful approaches to other areas of Egypt for women\u2019s health and empowerment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.pathfinder.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/image-51.png\")
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Local NGOs in the lead<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Ambassadors of Change<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Ambassadors of Change Approach<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nService delivery and community engagement tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Engaging men and communities through partnerships with religious leaders<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Family planning as a gateway to women\u2019s empowerment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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