Format Project Progress Report - CARE ÖsterreichContract No. 2729-02/2014 |3 among the 10 households that each of them engages. In total, 2,747 household visits (reaching 4,132 males

PROJEKTDOKUMENT

Format

Project Progress Report

Austrian Development Agency

Zelinkagasse 1010 Vienna Austria

phone: +43 (0)1 90399-0

fax: +43 (0)1 90399-1290 [email protected] • www.entwicklung.at

Contract No. 2729-02/2014

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Project Progress Report


As at August 31st 2015

Contractor/ applicant:

Name: CARE Österreich

Address: Lange Gasse 30/4, 1080 Wien

Phone, email: +43 (1) 7150715, [email protected]

Contact person for the action: Marion Ehalt ([email protected])

Project title:

Improving Access to Reproductive, Child and Maternal Health in Northern Uganda

Local project partner:

Name: Gulu Women’s Economic Development and Globalization (GWED-G)

Address: PO BOX 1257, Gulu

Phone, Email: 077-2-644729, [email protected]

Reporting period:

Reporting period: 01.09.20141 – 31.08.2015 Report submitted on (date): 18.12.2015

Due date: 31.10.2015

Planned project duration from: 01.09.2014 Until: 31.08.2017

Reallocations: 4,000 EUR (see below page 16) Extended until: /

1 Due to late contract issuance, the project implementation could not start before November 2014.


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Summary of the project progress

Narrative description of project progress, particularly with regard to the achievement of objectives,

expected results and indicators, monitoring and necessary management measures in accordance with

chapter no. 6 of the project document (Monitoring and Evaluation).

CARE and GWED-G are implementing the “Improving Access to Reproductive, Child and Maternal

Health” project as part of CARE’s Northern Uganda Women Empowerment Programme (NUWEP). It

builds on work around engaging men and boys in different initiatives. Past experiences have

highlighted gaps such as limited decision making around women’s reproductive health decisions, low

uptake of family planning services and inadequate male involvement in contributing to parenting

responsibilities. The initiative is also designed to address service governance gaps, especially in

relation to health related service provision. The initiative therefore aims to overcome barriers to

accessibility of sexual, reproductive, maternal and child health (SRMCH) services that arise from

social constructs, specifically gender norms.

The project already shows several achievements after one year of implementation.

Expected Result 1: All members of participating households have the required, age

appropriate, knowledge about SRMCH issues to support family members in accessing services

9,366 household members (4,132 males, 5,234 females) were reached by the project in year one.

Household interviews and interactions with women and men indicated increased knowledge by

participating household members on issues regarding SRMCH. There are changing perceptions and a

willingness of men to increasingly support reproductive health issues. Reports from the Community

Based Facilitators indicated that more men are supportive in their households, helping their spouses to

take care of their children. Relationships among spouses have improved; they communicate better

within the households and with their children. Both men and women reported increased appreciation

of the importance to attend to their sexual and reproductive health (SRH).

The project has also targeted different age groups, providing age appropriate information. Adolescent

boys and girls were actively engaged through dialogues on communication issues among adolescents

and their parents, demystifying the many myths and misconceptions on sexuality. Young people have

also been trained on various life skills.

Women have been involved in discussions with their spouses on SRMCH with different health workers

reaching out to the communities to sensitize them and share information. Male participants and their

contribution to supporting SRMCH have been central to all discussions. The percentage increase in

knowledge of participating household members on key age appropriate, SRMCH issues will be

measured after baseline values have been established (see below under “Evaluation”).

Result area 2: Men and adolescent boys demonstrate supportive behaviours with regard to

household members accessing SRMCH health services.

The initiative worked with men, boys and couples to model behaviours that are supportive for SRMCH.

Men were supported through five (5) community dialogues/meetings and discussions to reflect and

discuss gender norms, reproductive health behaviours, their own health and women’s health. From the

discussions, men reported that they are actively involved in supporting their spouses in accessing

reproductive services, child care and that couple communication within their families is improving.

Through various feedback meetings and community dialogues, women testified on the support

provided by their spouses and changes that have transformed their families. Role model men have

started holding dialogue sessions on sexuality education issues with their spouses and children


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among the 10 households that each of them engages. In total, 2,747 household visits (reaching 4,132

males and 5,234 females) were made.

Young men and boys, both in and out of school, have also been involved in the program. School

programs have provided spaces for mentorship of youth and adolescents in life skills and adolescent

sexual health and for discussions on relationships. Youth have reported improved relationships within

their schools, and supportive behaviors towards their peers.

The actual increase in supportive behaviors of participating male household members, as reported by

both male and female household members, will be established after the baseline is concluded (see

below under “Evaluation”)

Expected Result 3: Health & Education Service providers are more aware of demand driven obstacles and actively engage to mitigate deterrents – thereby increasing access to service

The project engaged with service providers in the health units, local leaders in the sub-counties and

traditional leaders within the communities. Leaders in Action meetings currently bring together the

various stakeholders to reflect on the services provided, the challenges, what improvements they

would like to see in their communities on how reproductive health services are delivered and the level

of involvement expected from the different service providers. The health workers, local leaders and

communities report improvements in service delivery due to continued reflective dialogues and

feedback between the health workers and other stakeholders. Spaces for review and genuine

feedback among stakeholders have been opened up, allowing for improvements in service delivery.

The visited health service providers report an increased number of visits by women for antenatal care

(ANC) services and an increased number of women coming with their spouses.

Background/ context

Update of the description of the project environment with regard to background and context (see

chapter no. 2 of the project document): Description of changes in the project environment with regard

to assumptions made (see chapter no. 5 of the project document), possible impact on project design,

planning and implementation in terms of being able to achieve the project’s objectives.

The project environment has not changed much during the reporting period. While there have been a

few disruptions given the preparations for the forthcoming elections, major disruptions may be felt

more during the first part of the second year as campaigns for presidential, parliamentary and local

councils elections shall be taking place.

Negative gender norms still greatly affect and influence outcomes within the region. Women and men

continue to grapple with power issues at the household level and men make most decisions on many

of the issues around sexuality and reproductive health in their families. Addressing power relations at

the household level still remains relevant for the program with men’s involvement being crucial.

Health, reproductive health and maternal health indicators continue to be relevant as part of the

sustainable development goals. While globally it is acknowledged that maternal mortality fell by 45

percent, and worldwide there has been an over 50 percent decline in preventable child deaths, it is

also true that an integrated approach is crucial for progress across the multiple goals. Empowering

women and promoting gender equality is crucial to accelerating sustainable development. Ending all

forms of discrimination against women and girls is not only a basic human right, but it also has a

multiplier effect across all other development areas.


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The project design therefore remains relevant. Working with role model men as gate keepers, decision

makers and involving couples and spouses to reflect on key SRMCH issues is very important as this

builds trust and dialogue to negotiate power differences in a safe environment. Gender and age

appropriate interventions have been important in ensuring that various participants draw on peer

support. It also complements the women empowerment initiatives that are implemented in the

Northern Uganda program areas.

The project continues to be implemented in line with the Government policies, Ministry of Health

(MoH) guidelines and strategies to involve men in promoting access to SRMCH services, e.g. through

role model men conducting monthly household visits and sensitizing the community with support from

local leaders and health workers. However, some role model men have reported challenges due to

agricultural activities that took place between April and June 2015. Indeed, some household members

went to and stayed on their farm land and returned only after the harvest. It was foreseen in the project

proposal that the participation in project activities might decrease during harvest time due to the fact

that the majority of the project beneficiaries rely on subsistence agriculture.

Target group, beneficiaries and local project partner

Update of the information regarding the target group, beneficiaries and project partners or rather the

structures and processes for project implementation: description of changes and impact on project

design, planning and implementation in terms of being able to achieve the project’s objectives.

The project beneficiaries comprise 100 trained role model men and their immediate families. In

addition, each role model man has a network of 10 households who they engage for sharing

information on SRMCH.

Within the households, the role model men are working with couples and conduct dialogues on

SRMCH issues. They also engage adolescent boys and girls, in and out of school, to discuss

parent/father communication within the household, demystify myths and misconceptions on sexuality,

facilitate access to age appropriate information for adolescents and create awareness regarding safe

mother- and fatherhood for the adults.

The project has strengthened and supported men and boys, increasing their knowledge on SRMCH

issues (culturally these are perceived to be women’s issues and responsibilities). This has helped

changing their perceptions around reproductive health issues and they report more supportive

behaviours like helping with household chores, supporting spouses to access health services and

hence challenging traditional roles ascribed to women and men.


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Intervention logic

Narrative description of the progress of the expected results and their visible effects and impacts. To

what degree has the project purpose been achieved, to what extent have the results contributed to the

achievement of the project purpose?

Result 1 – All members of the participating households have the required, age appropriate knowledge

about key SRMCH issues to support family members in accessing services.

A joint desk review of male engagement materials was conducted by CARE staff, GWED-G and the

representative from the District regional trainer for reproductive health. The team agreed to adapt

various materials from the already existing materials in order to train the role model men and their

spouses.

CARE in partnership with GWED-G conducted trainings (6 days, 2 for each of the three sub-countries)

for the role model men. 100 role model men were identified and trained on SRH/maternal and child

health (MCH) issues including safe motherhood, abortion, family planning and infertility. Other training

sessions and topics included facilitation skills, advocacy skills, personal hygiene, sexually transmitted

infections/HIV-AIDS, immunisation, growth monitoring for infants and appropriate nutrition for both

mothers and children. The role model men gained knowledge and information from the trainings. This

helped in addressing their information gaps and they are now able to articulate and share information

on SRMCH with confidence. Each role model man has been attached to 10 households which they

visit monthly to discuss issues related to SRMCH.

Following the training, the role model men also demonstrated increased competences in working with

health service providers, for example they supported the COOPEE health centre to conduct HIV

counselling and testing for households. 43 people were counselled and tested (29 female, 14 male). In

addition, the role model men have been sharing their experiences on how men and women can spend

their time at home and the importance of shared responsibilities as well as couple communication.

Result 2 – Men & adolescent boys demonstrate supportive behaviours with regard to their family

members accessing SRMCH services

Household Dialogues:

The trained role model men conducted this year 2,747 household visits/dialogues with 9,366

household members (4,132 males, 5,234 females). Various topics related to men’s roles as fathers

and parents, adolescent communication, and other reproductive health issues were discussed.

Dialogues and debates are conducted to address harmful practises among youth and adolescents and

various male behaviours that are not supportive of women’s access to SRH and MCH services. The

dialogues have increased awareness on contraceptive use. Women in the project area testified that

they can now easily discuss with their spouses the use of contraceptive methods, which has in turn led

to an increase in demand for family planning services (according to role model men reports, health

workers’ reports and statistics from Health Centers).

Male Engagement Dialogues

21 male engagement dialogues were conducted by the role model men, targeting men and male youth

from the participating households between the months of April and August 2015. The dialogues were

conducted jointly by different groups of role model men so that they can provide support to each other

during the discussions and share the facilitating processes. The dialogues have enabled the role

model men to interact more closely with adolescents, understand their challenges and explore the


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physical, emotional and psychological changes that adolescents and youth undergo, enabling them to

open up spaces and freely interact with peers and adults. A total of 725 people comprising the

Community Based Facilitators, role model men, adult men, adolescents and local council leaders

participated and shared experiences and challenges facing men in addressing SRH/MCH problems.

Awareness trainings with leaders (administrative, political, traditional and religious leaders)

65 administrative, political, traditional and religious leaders from the sub-counties of Awach and Koch

Goma were engaged during the first year of implementation and involved in reviewing and

understanding the project initiative in order to rally their support and ensure they encourage the role

model men in their communities. Together with the leaders, CARE staff and Community Based

Facilitators, the team discussed SRMCH governance indicators that would help them monitor the

initiative and provide appropriate support to the role model men. The leaders proposed a multi-

stakeholder platform that should bring the men, duty bearers and other players together to discuss and

find solutions to challenges that the role model men will be uncovering in their communities. They also

proposed support to ensure that these spaces are institutionalized and expanded as currently the

reproductive health working groups mostly target practitioners and stakeholders directly involved in

health provisioning.

Leaders in Action Meetings

Leaders in action meetings (10 meetings, attended by 293 participants (182 males, 111 females) have

been conducted in the sub counties to enable role model men to provide feedback to their

communities on the work they have done, their successes and challenges. The leaders in action

meetings were conducted in the sub counties of Bungatira, Koch Goma, Patiko and Alero. These

meetings brought together political, religious, opinion leaders and women’s leaders of VSLA groups.

The role model men regularly share with the leaders their activities with the 10 households and the

community. Together, they have been able to explore the various local government policies and seek

support for the implementation of other government framework policies, such as ensuring men’s

involvement and support to their spouses in accessing health services. These meetings also provide

opportunities for various leaders to update each other and provide feedback on challenges within their

jurisdiction. The feedback sessions have created spaces for improved dialogues and relationships

among the leaders and role model men. The meetings also result in information-sharing and

discussions around challenges as communities can now directly and more often interact with the

leaders on reproductive and SRMCH issues.

Result 3 – Health & Education Service providers are more aware of demand based obstacles and

actively engage to mitigate deterrents – thereby increasing access to service

Two (2) community feedback sessions and health service forums were conducted (one for the sub

counties of Awach, Patiko and Bungatira and one for Koro, Bobi and Koch Ongako). A total of 60

participants (36 men and 24 women) comprising health workers, the role model men, VHTs (Village

Health Teams) and community leaders attended the dialogues. They discussed issues such as safe

delivery and support from men to their spouses regarding ANC, based on the inputs they received

during household dialogues, men engage sessions and leaders in action meetings. This has

contributed to addressing service providers’ obstacles hindering access to SRH/MCH services. Some

of the obstacles that were being cited included stigmatisation and exclusion of women who do not

attend maternity health services with their spouses and polite communication of health workers with

their patients. In Awach sub-county, health workers and role model men held joint community

dialogues at the health facility during clinic days. They also discussed how access and service

provision can be made easier through joint collaboration efforts of the various stakeholders.


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Project results/ project status

Intervention logic Indicator as

planned (target)

Indicator actual

status as at date

(achievement)

% achieved Sources of

Verification

Deviations/ comments/

observations

Overall Objective

Contribute to improved

SRMCH amongst the target

population

(Changes of) Assumptions

N/A

Project Purpose

Overcome the barriers to

accessibility of SRMCH

services that arise from the

social constructs,

specifically gender norms

20% increase in

reported service

utilization in

participating

households

To be established

when the baseline is

completed.

The majority of the

participating households

now know the importance

of and/or have

increasingly started to

use family planning,

access ANC and general

reproductive health

services.

Role model men

referral reports.

Testimonies from

the households.

The baseline values have not

been established yet (see below

under “Evaluation”).


N/A

Expected Result 1

All members of the

participating households

have the required, age

appropriate, knowledge

about SRMCH issues to

support family members in

accessing services

50% increase in

knowledge of

participating

households

members on key,

age appropriate,

SRMCH issues

A training guide has

been developed, 100

role model men trained

and coached on

SRMCH issues. Other

materials, including

posters, flyers and

other brochures have

not yet been

developed.

While the KAP survey

has not been conducted

yet, many of the targeted

households are

knowledgeable on the

discussed information

related to family planning,

parenthood, men and

reproductive health roles,

SRH.

Household

members

interviewed,

testimonies by

household

members.

When baseline information and

KAP survey tools are agreed

upon after the participatory

research, information will be

collected for this indicator.


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Major activity planned Current status as at 31st August Deviations/ comments

Activity 1.2: Training of role model men A five day training took place. 100 role model men

participated and were trained on how men and their

spouses spend their time in a day, healthy

sexuality, family planning, looking to the past and

planning the future, the legacy of the father, family

life and communication, parents by accident,

alcoholism, child rights and protection, gender, non

violence/gender-based violence (GBV), pregnancy

care giving, “mother of my child and me”, parent to

child communication, safe motherhood and sex

education.

GWED-G conducted follow-up trainings for the role

model men in August for 6 days in three sub

counties (each 2 days). Topics focused on

advocacy skills, facilitation skills and personal

hygiene. Participants also shared their experiences.

The role model men have increased knowledge on the

topics covered during the training according to their

testimonies.

Expected Result 2

Men and adolescent boys

demonstrate supportive

behaviours with regard to

household members

accessing SRMCH services

20% increase in

supportive

behaviours of

participating male

household

members, as

reported by male

households

members

Male and adolescent

household members

report increased

supportive behaviours

of male household

members after the

dialogues.

Men are increasingly

accompanying their

spouses to the health

centres for ANC,

delivery and other

services.

KAP survey to be

conducted with

establishment of baseline

data.

Male engagement

dialogues reports

Health unit

information system

Household member

interviews

Traditional and cultural beliefs

and norms in which reproductive

health and SRMCH are

considered part of women’s roles

are still observed in the

community.

20% increase in

supportive

Female household

members reported

To be established after

the baseline values are

Households

interviews

Men need continuous

sensitization and support to


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behaviours of

participating male

household

members, as

reported by female

household

members

increased supportive

behaviours of male

household members

during the dialogues.

established. (dialogues)

Focus group

Discussions

Testimonies from

local leaders

maintain the supportive

behaviours shown.

Major activity planned Current status as at 31st August Deviations/ comments

Activity 2.1: Conducting Households Dialogues –

monthly visits to 1000 Household

A total of 2,747 household visits were made

reaching 9,366 persons (4,132 males, 5,234

females). As part of the household dialogues, 5

meetings were conducted targeting adolescent

boys and girls to understand issues related to

communication between men and their children.

The parents have problems discussing sexuality issues

with their children. They still believe that mothers should

talk to their daughters and fathers to their sons.

Activity 2.2: Conducting male engagement

dialogue sessions

21 male engagement dialogues sessions were held.

725 local leaders, adolescents as well as role

model men participated in the dialogues.

Myths and misconceptions around family planning and

infertility continue to abound and are a source of

uncertainty especially with reference to the use of family

planning methods.

Activity 2.3: Awareness training with leaders

(traditional, religious, political etc.)

65 local council leaders, traditional and religious

leaders rallied to seek support for role model work.

Leaders discussed governance indicators and

defined roles they could engage in to support the

initiative.

Leaders are willing to support the role model men in

carrying out activities on SRH.

Activity 2.4: Conducting leaders in action

meetings

10 leaders in action meetings were held, 293

leaders attended (182 males, 111 females) from

Koch Goma, Ongako, Lamogi, Bobbi, Bungatira

and Awach sub-counties. The role model men

shared with the leaders their activities within the 10

households and the community.

Leaders report the constant support and their reduced

workload as a result of role model men’s work in the

community.

Expected Result 3:

Health and Education

service providers are more

20% of health

service providers

that demonstrate

Health service

providers engaged in

the dialogue are

Baseline values to be

established and KAP

survey to be conducted.

Health workers

interviews, focus

group discussions,

Communication problems and

negative perceptions still exist on

how the health workers treat


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aware of demand driven

obstacles and actively

engage to mitigate

deterrents - thereby

increasing access to

services

changes /

improvements in

how service is

offered

demonstrating changes

in attitude,

commitments and

support to the

community.

testimonies from

the households who

have accessed

services from the

health centres.

mothers seeking services.

Health workers have committed to

refrain from using abusive

languages.

Major activity planned Current status as at 31st August

Activity 3.1: Community feedback sessions and

Health services forums

Health workers, role model men and community

leaders participated in 2 feedback sessions in

Bobbi, Koro and Ongako sub counties. A total of 60

participants (36 men and 24 women) attended and

shared their experiences on SRMCH.

There were only few sessions given other competing

priorities for the different stakeholders.

Activity 3.2: Training Health Service providers Activity not yet conducted.

Activity 3.2: Connecting Teachers and Parents. Not yet conducted


for Expected Results and

changes, if any

Baseline See below under

“Evaluation”: The

quantitative baseline

survey will be

conducted after the

participatory research.

The participatory research is

funded by CARE Austria.

However, in order to add more

resources to the logistics of

organizing both a participatory

research and a quantitative

baseline survey, the budget lines

for the refresher training of role

model men, household dialogues

and male engage dialogues will

be slightly reduced (3%-7%). This

will not affect the expected

deliverables.


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Monitoring, Project management (difficulties encountered, management

measures)

Difficulties encountered during project implementation and management measures applied to solve

the problems, e.g. changed project environment, target group, local partner organization and other

local parties involved and/ or other difficulties encountered that have led to a change in project

planning. Lessons learnt as a result and how they have been taken into consideration for further

project implementation.

Status of implementation of recommendations made by ADA and/ or the respective Coordination

Office (e.g. EIA and gender assessment, external project progress analysis).

Documentation/ publications/ visibility: what activities have been carried out to publish project results

and lessons learnt?

Key challenges/difficulties encountered during project implementation:

A few challenges were faced during the implementation:

The project implementation started later than initially planned due to late contract issuance.

As communicated to the ADA, the Voluntary Initiative Service Organization (VISO) that was

originally identified to implement the initiative with CARE was replaced following a number of

structural changes that directly affected their ability to implement projects. Taking on a new

partner, Gulu Women’s Economic Development and Globalization (GWED-G), and orientating

them on the modalities of implementation also impacted on the startup and implementation

progress.

At the community level, women have limitations to participate and be represented in public

spaces. Within their homes and communities they do not articulate issues that affect them with

confidence. This is even worse for sexual and reproductive health issues as they are considered

very private. This was noticed during household dialogues where women mostly agree to what

their spouses have suggested.

Among the elderly in the household and community, strong cultural beliefs that reinforce gender

inequalities such as valuing early marriages and teenage pregnancy still prevail. This explains

among other factors why there is a high rate of early marriage and forced early marriage. The

health workers have reported in some areas underage girls who may need specialized support.

Most communities in Northern Uganda are patriarchal. Decision-making solely lies with the male

or elderly people who have negative attitudes towards family planning and other components of

SRMCH.

Due to the patriarchal nature of the Acholi homes, most role model men find it still challenging to

freely talk about sexuality topics to the elderly men because it is considered a taboo in their

culture.

Traditional beliefs are still a major hindrance factor as many prefer to go to the native and witch

doctors instead of going to the hospital for appropriate SRH services.

April-June was a season for cultivation and harvesting, during which people are involved in

agricultural work. This affected the hours of dialogue sessions, making them end very late.


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Staff reported difficulty in accessing some villages due to poor road networks as a result of poor

management of the roads and too much rain.

Some couples share medicines when the man refuses to access services. For example, a lady

testified “I have been on antiretrovirals (ARVs) since I was tested positive during ANC. My spouse

has never tested but keeps stealing my drugs”.

Some men and women in the community still abuse alcohol. During meetings and sessions, some

came very drunk and were unable to concentrate.

Some of the management measures which have been applied to address the difficulties

encountered were the following:

Health workers have been encouraged to conduct outreaches in hard to reach areas so that every

individual has access to SRMCH services.

GWED-G staff discusses convenient times and schedules meetings after the communities return

from their fields for the dialogues to start.

The religious leaders and local council leaders are also encouraged to attend meetings so that

they understand the essence behind family planning in order to remove the myths and

misconceptions that some leaders have on the use of family planning.

Health workers encourage women and men to access services as couples, e.g. going together for

HIV counselling and testing in order to avoid issues of men having to share ARVs with their wife.

Gulu district has come out with a GBV bill to re-enforce the penal code act of 1950 and the related

amendments of 2006. Also, a draft ordinance against production, selling and consumption of

alcohol has been brought for council’s first hearing. This, when approved, will legislate against

early marriages and alcohol abuse in the community.

Lessons learnt that have been taken into consideration for further project implementation:

Continuous sharing of information and counselling of household members by the role model men

has reduced the rate of domestic violence at household level, leading to productive community

collaboration.

Cooperation exhibited by the household members allowing the role model men to talk about

SRMCH to their families has increased knowledge of people and understanding of issues affecting

them which are related to reproduction.

The good partnership that exists with the local government leaders, the service providers,

traditional leaders, opinion leaders and political leaders has given a very good support to the role

model men and Community Based Facilitators working in the project. This also reinforces project

sustainability. Community sensitization on alcohol consumption is jointly conducted by the role

model men and local leaders, for example in Pawel, Patiko and Ibakara in Koro Sub County.

Involving the religious leaders enables them to support their families and communities to access

SRH services.

Inviting health care providers to conduct outreaches where community dialogues are organized


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helps bring services nearer to the people. For example COOPEE health centre II joined the role

model men during their dialogue and carried out HIV testing for 43 people (29 females, 14 males)

and counselled 51 people in Bungatira sub county.

Evaluation

In case evaluation measures have been carried out during the reporting period please provide a short

summary, including relevant findings and recommendations. In case no evaluation measures have

been carried out during the reporting period, please indicate the date when they will be carried out and

what the actual state of preparations is. How will the evaluation results be taken into consideration for

the further project implementation?

At the beginning of the project, the first activities included stakeholder meetings and a mapping of key

sub counties for intervention. The project team held discussions with various stakeholders and

beneficiaries, including role model men, women and young mothers, in order to understand their

attitudes, knowledge and practices in relation to SRMCH in their communities. Many challenges were

mentioned and it appeared impossible to conduct a quantitative baseline survey without first collecting

qualitative data to better understand men’s knowledge, attitudes and practices around SRMCH.

It was decided to conduct a participatory research, funded by CARE Austria. This research started in

August 2015 and shall end at the beginning of 2016 (processes might be delayed due to the upcoming

elections). As mentioned in the consultant’s inception report, for the purpose of this research project,

role model men will be the main participants, “playing a role as co-researchers and as such working in

partnerships with professional researchers and with CARE staff members. In other words, we aim at

creating a collaborative process based on the recognition that each actor brings to the research

process a unique perspective and expertise. No one can understand better than role model men the

subjective experiences of boys and men in their communities with respect to SRH issues. They either

went through these events or are living in such a reality in the present moment. Professionals working

in CARE and external professional researchers also bring their own experiences and research skills

which in synergy with role model men can create a meaningful and high quality research study.

Breaking the traditional subject-object division in research, (...) role model men research themselves,

exploring their own attitudes and practices and reflecting on how social norms about gender and

manhood impact on their communities in relation to issues of sexualilty and reproduction. That is, to

respond to the agreed research questions a group of role model men will collect and analyze

information (attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and practices) about SRH from them and from other role

model men”.

Although the final framing of the research will be done with the role model men, it is anticipated that

the following questions will be at the core of the study design:

1. What are men’s knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding SRH and MCH?

2. What factors inhibit men and boys from accessing SRH services?

3. What factors prevent men from supporting their female partners to access SRH services?

4. What roles do men think they should play in SRH and MCH?

5. What are the beliefs and attitudes of health center workers about men’s involvement in SRH

and MCH?

The quantitative baseline survey to measure the logical framework indicators will be conducted after

this participatory research. Both surveys will be shared with the ADA.


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Sustainability

According to chapter no. 7 of the project description

GWED-G signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the local district government to partner

with the local government structures and other NGOs which are doing similar activities. Their services

can now be utilized by the project’s beneficiaries. For example, organizations like Marie Stopes

International and the Straight Talk Foundation respectively offer services specializing mainly in family

planning and in comprehensive abortion care. Thanks to the MoU, project beneficiaries can be linked

to access these services during but also after the project.

Moreover, the project organized sensitization meetings and dialogues with leaders and health workers

on SRH/MCH issues affecting the community. This is done so that the leaders and health workers can

take the lead in advocating for SRH uptake and utilization, even after the implementation of the

project.

Finally, CARE International and GWED-G are strengthening the capacities of role model men. They

are now able to offer free services, conduct household dialogues and sensitize communities on

SRMCH issues. Leaders have also been sensitized to give support to the role model men in carrying

out their work. Using all these structures will contribute to the sustainability of the project beyond the

implementation period.

Perspectives

Changes and adjustments necessary with regard to the following reporting period (see chapter no. 6 of

the project document).

As mentioned above, slight changes are proposed in the Budget (see attached):

Budget line 1.3 (Refresher trainings for role model men): a reduction by 1,142.86 EUR (3,6 %)

Budget line 2.1 (Household dialogues): a reduction by 1,428.57 EUR (7,6 %)

Budget line 2.2 (Male engagement dialogues) : a reduction by 1,428.57 EUR (7 %)

Budget line 8.1 (Baseline survey): an increase by 4,000 EUR (116 %)

The changes will support the processes to conduct the baseline for this project (participatory

qualitative research financed by CARE Austria and quantitative survey financed by the project budget).

Annexes of the progress report

- Financial report

- Confirmation of the interim financial statement

- Audit report

- Budget amendment sheet


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Request for next disbursement

Summary project

budget (relevant for

accounting) according

to contract

Amount approved so

far

Amount presented for

verification as at due

date

Remaining budget

333.333,88 EUR

0 EUR (first report)

51.771,40 EUR

281.562,49 EUR

Request for disbursement for the next accounting period: 144.082,58 EUR.

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Documents

Format Project Progress Report - CARE ÖsterreichContract No. 2729-02/2014 |3 among the 10 households that each of them engages. In total, 2,747 household visits (reaching 4,132 males