Improving sexual and reproductive health and rights for women and girls, and humanitarian assistance

Health and rights of adolescent girls and women in southern Senegal - $20 million over five years

Implemented by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), this initiative will provide more than 630,000 women with increased access to, and quality of, sexual and reproductive health services in southern Senegal. It will also increase awareness of sexual and reproductive health and rights to help drive demand for these services.

Improving sexual and reproductive health and rights of adolescent girls in Benin - $8 million over four years

This initiative, to be implemented by the Centre for International Cooperation in Health and Development, aims to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights of adolescent girls in Benin. Activities will strengthen the capacity of government institutions and local organizations to raise awareness of, and provide greater access to, sexual and reproductive health. More than 1 million women and adolescent girls will benefit from this initiative.

Reproductive and sexual health of adolescent girls - $9 million over three years

Implemented in partnership with The Netherlands, this project aims to prevent maternal morbidity, gender-based violence and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases through increased awareness of, and access to, sexual and reproductive health and rights. Almost 2 million women and adolescent girls in remote areas of Benin will benefit from this initiative.

Preventing early pregnancies in Benin: Developing a self-esteem intervention to empower adolescent girls - $749,900 over four years

Implemented by the International Development Research Centre, this research project will help to reduce early pregnancies among adolescents in Benin through an evidence-based intervention that provides adolescents with sexual and reproductive health services as well as support to increase their self-esteem and autonomy. Adolescents will be provided with information on sexual health, family planning and responsible sexual behaviour, along with psychosocial support, legal advice and skills training.

Reaching and empowering adolescents to make informed choices for their health - $12 million over four years

Implemented by Save the Children Canada, this initiative will provide more than 100,000 Nigerians aged 10 to 19 with greater awareness of, and access to, sexual and reproductive health services geared specifically to them. Project activities will include training on gender-sensitive and adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health and rights service delivery, including family planning, contraceptives and sexual and gender-based violence. The initiative will also help to increase the capacity of youth-focused civil society groups to advocate and integrate evidence-based adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights best practices in state policies and programs.

Addressing gaps in sexual and gender-based violence in Nigeria - $7.5 million over four years

This initiative, to be implemented by UNFPA, aims to decrease gender-based discriminatory practices and attitudes in health services for women and girls, particularly related to sexual and gender-based violence. More than 300,000 women, girls and boys aged 10 to 24 will benefit from this initiative. Project activities will include training health workers and upgrading health facilities to provide culturally appropriate and gender-sensitive quality services on female genital mutilation and cutting; child, early and forced marriages; and obstetric fistula care.

Humanitarian assistance for countries in the Lake Chad Basin (Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria) - $37.2 million for 2017 to 2018

Working through a number of trusted humanitarian partners, Canada’s contribution will help meet the emergency needs of populations affected by conflict, food insecurity and natural disasters around the Lake Chad Basin. This funding will provide vulnerable populations, including women and children, with life-saving assistance, including food, treatment for acute malnutrition, clean water, health care, protection services and support for livelihoods.