In January 2017, President Trump signed an executive order re-instating the Mexico City Policy, also known as the ‘Global Gag Rule’ (GGR). This new extended GGR applies to all global health assistance furnished by all US departments and agencies.  Against this background, IPPF intensified its resource mobilization efforts throughout 2017 and was successful to receive pledges of support from a number of donor governments. As a result, IPPF set up a two-year funding mechanism to provide grants to those Member Associations most affected by the GGR. FPA Sri Lanka was one beneficiary of this funding.

Objectives and activities of the project

1. Increase knowledge on and access to quality comprehensive SRHR services and products for industrial sector workers, rural and urban underserved communities and other marginalized communities so that communities are able to take decisions on SRHR. –

• Conducting static clinics.- Scaling up service provision through the existing Service Delivery Points
• Conducting mobile clinics. - The areas to conduct mobile clinics will be determined on the basis of high fertility rates, high incidence of teenage pregnancies and under aged marriages, accessibility to services, social taboos etc.
• Conducting associate clinics - The service provision within export processing zones are mostly carried out through clinics within factory premises.  FPA Sri Lanka has already positioned itself in and around industrial estates. Larger factories have within their premises medical facilities in the form of a Sick- Room/ medical centre. Some of the existing facilities are to be improved to address specific SRHR services to needy factory employees
• Conducting training for volunteers - FPA Sri Lanka has been running a successful volunteer led integrated health programmes with a focus on SRHR. New batches will be provided with adequate training to become qualified volunteer health service providers to provide services in peripheries to deliver an effective and quality assured service.
• Deployment of health assistants

Volunteer health assistants will be trained and deployed to deliver community based SRHR services and to distribute contraceptive items among people in areas selected on the basis of having higher fertility rates, higher teenage pregnancies, social exclusion of women etc.  Furthermore, they will also operate as demand generators in communities.

• Knowledge enhancement of health assistants and key community members

2. Bridging knowledge gaps on SRHR among multiple stakeholders

• Demand generation in catchment areas

Service delivery points of FPA Sri Lanka are located in diverse areas with specific and unique needs. As these entities have become more self-reliant, the service provision needs to increase geographically. Therefore, there is a need to raise awareness on the service availability through diverse interventions with a view to generate demand.

• Development and distribution of IEC materials
• Demand generation through Comprehensive Sexuality Education

3. Advocacy efforts to target supporting legal and policy reforms for SRHR and countering opposition, and where relevant, carrying out the Organization’s advocacy efforts around the GGR.