Rotarian Action Group for Population Growth & Sustainable Development (RFPD)

1. Putting Population in Balance with Resources & Creating Healthy, Happy Families Rotarian Action Group for Population Growth & Sustainable Development (RFPD)

2. Who we are • Founded in 1996. • We currently have 20,000+ members worldwide. • RFPD is the largest of the Rotary Action Groups, which fall under the Global Networking Groups of Rotary International. • We are not funded or controlled by Rotary International, but RFPD operates in accordance with RI policies.

3. Mission • Our mission is to work to address the population crisis around the world. We do this through educating and motivating the 1.2 million Rotarians to develop and implement projects that directly address the population problem.

4. Key Strategies • Put population in balance with its resources. • Create healthy, happy families. • Initiate, support and co-fund Matching Grant projects through The Rotary Foundation (TRF). • Advocate on Population Issues.

5. Population Pressure • World population has quadrupled in the last 100 years. • 80 million people are added to world population each year--Nearly the population of Mexico. • 200,000 humans enter life each day - or a large city of 1,400,000 each week. • By 2050 we will grow by 4 Billion to 10.5 Billion.

7. Poverty & Human Suffering • The World Bank says: 2.8 billion human beings live at or below the poverty line on less than US $2 per day. • About 800 million people worldwide suffer from hunger and malnutrition. • About 46,000 humans die every day from hunger or hunger-related causes. • More than 1 1/2 billion people do not have adequate safe water and proper sanitation.

8. Matching Grant Projects • RFPD initiates, supports and co-funds Population-based Matching Grant Projects by working through our Rotary leaders abroad. • We act as a clearinghouse for these projects and promote them to find an international sponsor. • Once the Matching Grant forms are complete and have been sent to The Rotary Foundation, we will help both clubs as needed while the project is taking place. • RFPD can be a catalyst to Rotary Clubs around the world in producing these wonderful, life-changing projects.

9. Population Projects • Primary Target: Women and Girl-children • Vocational Skills • Literacy • Family Planning and Child Spacing • Reproductive Health • Micro-credit

10. RFPD Success Stories • Saheli Centers in India • Improvement of Mother’s Health in Africa • ZAP Program in Latin America

11. Saheli Centers - India • The Saheli Centers were established in 2003 with 4 pilot project centers. • Today, there are 22 centers with 5 Matching Grants available for sponsorship. • Centers include: Vocational training for women and girls, education and reproductive health. • RFPD is now working with Rotarians in Georgia and Indiana, USA to develop Saheli centers in Bangladesh and Mali.

12. “Saheli” • “Saheli” (Hindi-feminine) - A girl’s best friend. A person whom one knows, likes, trusts, one who supports, sympathizes, encourages and is proud of your achievements.

13. Saheli Centers - Objectives • Students are trained at each center. • Once they have completed the program they become “Saheli’s” and take what they have learned and return to their communities and will teach others. • Bring back new ideas improving their homes and educating children. • Increase family income. • Primary objective to train rural women for vocational activity, empower them, give them skills to improve the quality of life. • To alleviate poverty and to remove inequality based on gender.

14. Vocational Skills Candle making class and jewellery making class - help families acquire money

15. Students interacting in Stitching Class

16. Youngsters getting acquainted with Computers

17. Education Dr. S.K. Prasad giving tips on health and hygiene. Other classes in reproductive health, personality and teaching.

18. Friends whose lives changed after joining the Saheli Center

19. RFPD works to reduceInfant & Maternal Mortality • Infant & Maternal Mortality Rates are the highest in developing countries. • According to UNFPA, every minute a woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth. • Each year, more than one million children are left motherless. • Up to fifteen million women suffer complications from pregnancy. • Each year, 529,000 women die from pregnancy-related causes. In developing countries, complications during pregnancy or childbearing are the leading cause of death for girls 15-19.

20. Saving Lives of Infants and Mothers • To save women’s lives, they must have access to reproductive health information, access to skilled care at the time of birth, and rapid access to quality emergency obstetric care. • Ensuring access to voluntary family planning could reduce maternal deaths by a third, and child deaths by as much as 20 percent, according to UNFPA. • RFPD is taking action through a successful project – “Improvement of Mother’s Health” in the states of Kano and Kaduna, Nigeria. • RFPD project was initiated and created by the RFPD German section and the local Rotarians in Nigeria. • Project is co-funded by The Rotary Foundation, the German section of RFPD, the German Government, AVENTIS Foundation and the Population Media Center.

21. Reducing Infant Mortality • Prevention of: • Malaria • HIV/AIDS – transmission from Mother to Infant • Anemia from Parasites, Sickle Cell Anemia • Starvation • Exhaustion • Having more Children than Can Feed, Clothe, and Educate

22. “Improvement of Mother’s Health” RFPD Project in Nigeria • Target group is 5 million women, ages 11-45 years of age. • Voluntary reproductive health information, family planning and child spacing. • Training of physicians and mid-wives. • Providing medical equipment for clinics and training for rural health care workers. • Improving communications and transportation for pregnant women in rural areas to get to the nearest hospital.

23. Pregnant women receive professional medical care & reproductive health information

24. A Comprehensive Approach to Reduce Infant & Maternal Mortality

25. ZAP Program – Latin America • The purpose of the Zero Adolescent Pregnancy (ZAP) Program is to reduce Infant and Maternal Mortality through the prevention of teenage and other unintended pregnancies. • ZAP Programs are currently running throughout the Americas, and are very successful. • In Latin America, 15% of pregnancies are teen pregnancies. • Cycle of the “Single Mother” • Lack of physical and psychological development of young women less than 16 years of age makes them particularly vulnerable to complications which arise during pregnancy and giving birth.

26. ZAP Program – Goals & Methodology • Making clinical services accessible. • Offering parental education. • Involving the inter-religious community and schools. • Providing programs according to school age, including sexual education, family planning and the prevention of transmissible diseases. • Providing programs of juvenile development which raise self-esteem. • Involving adolescents as mentors in the education of others.

27. Latin America: MG Projects • Uruguay: Integral Support to Adolescent Pregnant Women • Paraguay: Educating teens on sexuality and reproductive education • Bolivia: Providing Reproductive Health Materials and Uniforms to schools • Mexico & Argentina: Education for Responsible & Healthy Relationships

28. RFPD – as a Rotarian Action Group (RAG) • RFPD initiates, conceives, supports and partly co-funds professional population projects of Clubs and Districts • RFPD promotes and improves WCS of Clubs/Districts • RFPD utilizes Rotary‘s unique network & cooperate with stakeholders • RFPD multiplies project effects by replicable pilot-projects • RFPD tackles the root causes of the problems – not only symptoms • RFPD links the interdependance of other Rotary programs

29. Advocacy – What can Rotarians do? • Join RFPD • Review the Projects Exchangefor P & D projects on our website and in our newsletter • Speaker’s Bureau - Volunteer to give club presentations • Become active in your WCS committee • Partner with other clubs to raise $

30. Thank you! www.rifpd.org Rotarian Action Group for Population Growth & Sustainable Development (RFPD)