The Grenada Planned Parenthood Association (GPPA) and GrenCHAP are collaborating with the Ministry of Health to support integrated sexual and reproductive health (SRH), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and gender-based violence (GBV) clinics at community health facilities in the parishes of St Mark, St Patrick, St John and Carriacou during January and February 2023 with funding from the Government of Canada.
To date, the Grenadian government is the only provider of SRH services in these parishes, and services are offered on a schedule as part of specialised clinics with no Obstetrician–Gynecologist (OB–GYN) available at the community facilities. Through this initiative, a wider range of services will be provided from 1 pm to 6 pm on weekdays, and 9 am to 2 pm on Saturdays, except in Carriacou where only weekday clinics will be held, and an OB–GYN will be available at the last clinic in each district.
This schedule will help to better meet the needs of beneficiaries who are employed or in school, while also accommodating the government’s regular services from these health facilities. A team of professionals — including an OB–GYN, a Nurse/Midwife, a SRH/GBV educator/counsellor, an administrative assistant, and youth volunteers from GPPA’s Youth Advocacy Movement (YAM) — has been recruited and trained to provide services at the primary healthcare facilities. A member of the Royal Grenada Police Force Special Victims Unit (SVU) for GBV, the GBV Unit and Parenting Programme in the Ministry of Gender Affairs, Child Protection Authority (CPA), along with other stakeholders, will also form part of the team.
Beneficiaries include women, men, all adolescents, and LGBTQI+ persons located in the communities of the project. In addition, the GPPA and GrenCHAP are working along with the Grenada National Council for the Disabled (GNCD) to increase participation of people with disabilities, and remind the public that the facilities in Gouyave, Grand Roy, Sauteurs, Hermitage, and Hillsborough have disability access ramps.
The project is made possible through funding provided to the GPPA through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), a Canadian government programme supporting small-scale, high-impact projects in developing countries. The CFLI project officially launched on January 5th with a 2-day workshop for community health nurses and midwives attached to all health districts. Curriculum and training activities focused on procedures for inserting, checking, and removing intrauterine devices (IUDs), the use of cryotherapy for cervical cancer prevention, and the Standard Operating Procedures for Gender-Based Violence in the health sector, including conducting basic psychological and safety assessments.
18 integrated and comprehensive SRH/GBV/HIV clinics will be conducted over the 2-month period. A referral and follow-up mechanism will be developed to ensure continuity of care following this private–public partnership.
GPPA
