REALISING RIGHTS – MEETING THE SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH NEEDS OF SEXUAL MINORITIES The MESDINE Project Financed by IF through IPPF Nathalie NKOUME Director of progamme

“ CAMNAFAW staff and volunteers have a positive attitude towards LGBTI and are committed to offer SRHR services with respect to sexual diversity as stipulated in the his constitution ”

From January 2008 to December June 2011 the Cameroon National Association for Family Welfare (CAMNAFAW) implemented the Innovation Fund project ‘Meeting Sexual and Reproductive Health Diversity Needs (MESDINE)’.

SOCIAL AND LEGAL ENVIRONMENT Sexual intercourse between two persons of the same sex is illegal in Cameroon and punishable under Section 347 of the Penal Code. The law reflects the deep-rooted belief that “normal” sexual relations can only take place between a man and a woman The legal and social marginalization and discrimination of LGBTI people makes it hard for them to access essential sexual health information and services, which increases their risk of STI and HIV infection

SOCIAL AND LEGAL ENVIRONNEMENT (CNT’D ) Service providers continue to have value judgments and discrimination in the provision of SRH services LGBTI are denied their sexual rights due to discriminiation, often forced to make the choice between living a secret, double life, or to suffer abandonment by friends and family

PROJECT GOAL The MESDINE (MEeting Sexual and reproductive DIversity Needs) aimed at contributing towards the improvement of the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of the LGBTI community in Yaoundé by using a rights-based approach with reference to IPPF Declaration of Sexual Rights, which shows how sexual rights are an integral part of Human Rights.

MAIN STRATEGIES mobilization and co-opting of the beneficiary population in order to gain their trust and raise awareness of the project. capacity building activities to increase the knowledge of staff, volunteers and beneficiaries on rights, sexuality and sexual health. provision of medical services to the beneficiary population, monitoring and evaluation of the project throughout implementation in order to constantly reflect on progress and use data to feedback into implementation

Despite encountering some significant challenges in project implementation, CAMNAFAW’s flexible and responsive approach to project management and the hard work of a dedicated project team saw these challenges overcome to great success

KEY ACHIEVEMENT  Increased commitment of governance, senior management and staff –The change experienced by some staff at the Organisation is dramatic and often quite personal; –The project staff now have a very close and supportive relationship with many of the project beneficiaries –Personal transformations are indicative of the journey that the NGO has made as a whole,

 Strengthened partnerships with NGOs and Government inclusion of LGBTI as a priority group in the National Strategic Plan for the fight against HIV. develop the country proposal for the 10th Round of the Global Fund, which they won strengthening partner orga nizations capacity to work with LGBTI

 Success and scale-up of the peer support groups –eight peer support groups were initially planned across Yaoundé. However demand to participate in these groups was so high that a further four were established following the first year of project implementation.

 Distribution of condoms and lubricants, and knowledge of safe sex practices the number of male condoms distributed to LGBTI people totaled 39,672 and due to high demand and a limited supply, only 2331 lubricants were distributed  Realisation of sexual rights Sexual rights were central to all project activities and an IPPF declaration used by the beneficiaries allowed peer councellor to lead discussions on sexual rights

 LGBTI-friendly and specialist service provision The clinic created a safe and non- judgmental environment for all LGBTI clients, where they could access high- quality and specialized services. All of the beneficiaries interviewed had high praise for the clinic staff and reported that being able to access SRH services without facing discrimination had made a significant impact on their lives.

 Significant growth in service provision to LGBTI the clinic saw a steady and significant increase in the number of LGBTI clients accessing services, In total 1,856 LGBTI clients were provided with 4,044 services over the three years of the project Number of services provided by type

Outcomes –winning trust/confidence… “The best thing about the Project is of course access to all these health facilities and SRH services. I could go and say I had sex with a man and no one would think of calling the Police.”

CHALLENGES Follow-up on HIV testing and referrals activities related to HIV testing have to be carried out within a national network ; Using the law to leverage messaging :In order to ensure that we could implement the project without fear of reprisal from the government or the public, we had to carefully frame the MESDINE project in the context of Cameroon’s national law which guarantees the right to health for all citizens

CHALLENGES ( Ctnt) Reaching a highly marginalized group in a challenging environment Targeting a group considering the restrictive environment in which we are working The cost of services :a real barrier for LGBTI to access services as many find it hard to find or keep employment

CHALLENGES ( Ctnt) Psychosocial support by resource persons who do not master fundamental principles of Sexual Rights and Sexual Diversity Transfer of competencies, resources and responsibilities to programme partners without breaking the level of confidence and security of beneficiaries lasting strategies that will enable preserve acquired knowledge during the implementation of programmes

Thanks to the project beneficiaries/actors…. Thank You