Phalombe Youth Arms Organisation (PYAO) has launched a project which aims at raising awareness on issues of violence against women and girls and to improve access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services.
The two year project which started on October 1 this year is entitled Leveraging Positive Action towards Reducing Violence against Women and Girls and is expected to end on September 30 in the year of 2021.
Speaking in an interview after presenting the project overview to the district executive committee in Phalombe district on Tuesday, PYAO Executive Director Vincent Thom said they want to make sure cases of violence against women and girls are being reported thereby being reduced.
“We have key outcomes such as to raise awareness on critical SRHR and Gender Based Violence (GBV) policies and strategies within communities and individuals for them to improve in reporting cases of violence within this district.
“And we are incorporating issues to do with sexual reproductive health so that SRHR services should be accessible to survivors of GBV,” he said.
In his remarks, Phalombe district youth development officer Ian Sukali said his office is hoping that at the end of the project cases of violence against girls will be reduced.
“Phalombe is one of the districts which have more cases of GBV and this will enable girls to speak out whatever kind of violence they face and in addition this project will help in improving quality of SRHR services to adolescent girls and young women in this district,” says Sukali.
PYAO is a local non-governmental organisation which invests in innovative ideas, convenes interested parties, shares its learning and advocates for change in support of young people being healthy, creative and fully engaged citizens.
