The Family Planning Association of Pakistan, later renamed as Rahnuma, is a Pakistani organisation that was established in 1953. Rahnuma has developed programmes to increase access to high-quality, affordable health services. Rahnuma has advocated for a rights approach to sexual and reproductive health, for the empowerment of particular groups within communities (especially women and young girls), and for the strengthening of
civil society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere. It is an affiliate of the
International Planned Parenthood Federation
The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is a global non-governmental organisation with the broad aims of promoting sexual and reproductive health, and advocating the right of individuals to make their own choices in family p ...
.
Major projects
Child marriage prevention
Rahnuma initiated several interventions to prevent
child marriage in Pakistan Child marriage is practiced in some parts of Pakistan, with the highest prevalence in the Sindh province. It disproportionately affects the girl child.Goonesekere, Savitri, Children, Law and Justice: A south Asian Perspective, p. 20. According to U ...
through legislative reforms in the existing laws to make them more responsive and for their enhanced implementation.
Family planning
The organization reaches out to young people, people with disability and most vulnerable and marginalized with
family planning
Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marita ...
services.
Sexual and reproductive health
Rahnuma seeks to provide
sexual and reproductive health
Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, healthcare, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's reproductive system and sexual wellbeing during all stages of their life.
The term can also be further de ...
services to adolescents and young people based on their rights as opposed to simply on their needs.
Poverty alleviation
It is also actively involved in
poverty alleviation
Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation, is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty.
Measures, like those promoted by Henry George in his economics clas ...
projects, owing to the direct connection between socio-economic conditions and health and well-being.
Social franchising
The association launched its Catalytic Fund initiative in September 2013. The goal was to expand access to a range of sexual and reproductive health services among poor and under‑served communities through a
social franchising Social franchising is the application of commercial franchising concepts to achieve socially beneficial ends, rather than profit.
Overview
Social franchising is the application of the principles of commercial franchising to promote social benefit ...
network with mid‑level private providers. Social mobilizers conduct home visits and awareness sessions to familiarize the communities in coverage areas with the upgraded franchisee clinics. A report by International Planned Parenthood in 2015 stated that the franchise network saw an 11‑fold increase in the total number of sexual and reproductive health services provided, from about 2,000 in the first quarter to almost 24,000 in quarter five.