In order to help address the high levels of maternal mortality and morbidity in the countries where we work, all our projects provide free family planning commodities and confidential counseling. This service is offered to fistula patients at the Freedom From Fistula clinics, as well as maternity patients at the Aberdeen Women's Centre in Sierra Leone when they return for their 6-week post-delivery check-up and parents bringing their children to the Outpatient Children’s Clinic (OPC).
There are group sessions for family planning, as well as individual counseling, explaining family planning in the context of safe sex and birth control and in 2022 we provided individual counseling for family planning to 4301 women (3805 at our Aberdeen Women's Centre in Sierra Leone, 153 at our Fistula Care Centre in Malawi and 343 at our Fistula Care Centre in Madagascar)
AWC also has a dedicated HIV Nurse, Juliette, who tests and counsels patients, referring them to the local government hospital for antiretroviral treatment, ensures they receive support, follow-up care and information on the importance of taking their medication and the steps they can take to keep themselves healthy.
Most commodities are provided to FFF centers by the Ministries of Health, UNFPA and other donors.
