This is the abstract presentation of Dr Pramesh Chandra Bhatnagar of Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI India), which was made as part of the 10th session of #APCRSHR10 Virtual, on the theme of "Innovations and changing norms around sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Asia and the Pacific". C H A I R Dr Eden R Divinagracia Executive Director, Philippine NGO Council on Population, Health and Welfare (PNGOC) P L E N A R Y S P E A K E R Beth Schlachter Executive Director, Family Planning 2020 (FP 2020) "Family planning progress to date and a collective vision for family planning post-2020" A B S T R A C T P R E S E N T A T I O N S Dr Neeta Shrestha | Visiting Service Provider Approach: reaching the unreached with Family Planning services Dr Pramesh C Bhatnagar | Peer lead approach for Promoting change in socio-Cultural Norms in a conservative rural community so as to reduce child marriage and promote youth friendly SRHR: An Intervention from Khalikote Ganjam Rural area of Orissa India Mehrin Shah | Increasing Lady Health Workers’ knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and rights: addressing knowledge gaps and improving linkages within rural communities in Pakistan Elisa Oreglia, Camille Tijamo | Smartphone use and reproductive health in Cambodia: A qualitative, multi-disciplinary exploratory study For more information on the session, please visit www.bit.ly/apcrshr10virtual10 Official conference website: www.apcrshr10cambodia.org Thanks

1. Peer lead approach for promoting change in
socio-cultural norms in a conservative rural
community so as to reduce child marriage
and promote youth friendly SRHR: an
intervention from khalikote ganjam rural area
of orissa india
DR P C BHATNAGAR
VOLUNTARY HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF
INDIA

2. INFORMATION ABOUT ODISHA
Ganjam
Operational Area Information
District - Ganjam
Block - Kholikote
Kholikote Population (Yr’2011)
1,69,171
TOTAL VILLAGES COVERED -
177

3. •To Share comprehensive strategy & learning from the project Marriage No
Child’s Play being implemented by VHAI as part of More Than Bride Alliance
(MTBA).
To discuss how young people were supported to decide how to pursue their
SRHR leading to increased utilization of SRHR Services.
•To share how Increased access to child protection systems for girls at risk and
their families affected by child marriage has helped in averting child marriage and
better SRHR.
To discuss how Increased engagement and collective social action against child
marriage and in support of ASRHR be promoted in traditional rural community of
Orissa.
OBJECTIVE

4. WHY WE WORK ON CHILD MARRIAGE
Culture & traditions
Education
Poverty
Insecurity

5. Methododology
Identification of Barriers for Youth & adolescent access to SRHR services
& reasons for high prevalence of child marriage.
Mapping of adolescent, group formations & identification of peer
educators,
trainings on Sexual Reproductive Health Rights and Life Skill Education.
Capacitating adolescent groups, community leaders, CBOs by VHAI on
SRHR and LSE.
Regular Government Health centres supported to become Adolescent
Friendly Health Centres. Adolescent girls submitted Demand charter on
child marriage.
Lobbying with the Government on child marriage done at state & district
level.
Community based monitoring tool having indicators on SRHR and child
marriage developed.
Male engagement used to influence the community.

6. MTBA APPROACH
Economic Empowerment
Advocacy
Empower

7. ENABLING ENVIRONMENT
“Creation of an Enabling
Environment as a pre-requisite for
any Sustainable Social Change”

8. COMMUNITY BASED MONITORING TOOL
“Using Community Based
Monitoring Tool (CBMT) to
address Adolescent Sexual
Reproductive Health Issues”

9. ADOLESCENT LEADERSHIP
“Enhancing adolescent leadership
through peer educators”

10. Capacitated 500
adolescent groups,
250 Self Help Group,
300 community
leaders, 11068
adolescent,70
CBOs, 288 Teachers,
830 School
Management
Committee members,
2800 Parents Teacher
Association
members 942 peer
leaders sensitizedby
VHAI on SRHR, LSE
& child marriage
70
Information Disse
mination centers
were formed for
adolescents
vocational and
recreational
activities
No child marriage
case 44 villages
95 % institutional
deliveries and
birth registration
ensured
Documented best
practices used for
advocacy
Increased
Utilisation of
contraceptives
through the
strengthening of
AFHCs
Community
monitoring of
adolescent
friendly SRHR
services
Through regular
interface with the
local MPs,
Panchayat
leaders, Head-
masters and
community
members 26
villages have been
made child
marriage free
128 proposed
child marriage
cases were
averted as a
collective effort of
different
stakeholders
11 adolescent
friendly Health
Centers created,
leading to
improved
utilization of
contraceptive and
other SRHR
services by both
male & female
adolescents.
RESULTS

11. The present intervention
highlighted how a peer lead
comprehensive strategy
involving adolescent girls and
boys, village opinion leaders,
Self-help groups, CBOs, other
CSOs can help creating
sustainable youth friendly,
enabling environment required
for improving the access to
SRHR services by youth.
The project developed CBMT
indicators to monitor the
quality of SRHR services and
ending child marriage. IEC and
BCC strategy adopted helped in
increasing the outreach and
furthering behaviour change of
adolescent girls, boys and care
givers.
IEC and BCC strategy adopted
helped in increasing the
outreach and furthering
behaviour change of
adolescent girls, boys and care
givers. Engaging Key
stakeholder like Village health
workers, school teachers, Govt.
officials, PRI members helped
in influencing the socio-cultural
norms of child marriage
CONCLUSION

12. A c t i v i t i e s
c o n d u c t e d t o
e n s u r e e s s e n t i a l
S R H R s e r v i c e s
d u r i n g l o c k d o w n
p e r i o d d u e t o
C O V I D 1 9
p a n d e m i c

13. Whatsapp Group
Discussion
Supporting “Stitching Mask”
Initiative by Adolescent Girls &
Self-Help Groups
Sanitary Napkin-
Distribution
INITIATIVES

14. ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT DURING LOCK
DOWN DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
• Virtual sessions organized for peer leaders on themes
such as menstrual hygiene, SRHR and precaution
measures for Covid 19.
• VHAI distributed sanitary napkin to 5500 girls residing in
remote and distant villages, for 2 months through peer
leaders
• Regular interaction with adolescent group members
through What's App groups.

15. ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT DURING LOCK
DOWN DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
• Supported “Stitching Mask” Initiative by Adolescent
Girls,
• 80 needy and poor girls were trained on stitching mask.
Raw materials along with remuneration was provided to
these girls to stich mask.
• 8000 masks were distributed with support from peer
leaders, PRI members, ASHA and Anganwadi workers.

16. ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT DURING LOCK
DOWN DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
• Creation of Local Helpline Number
• The queries on COVID-19, SRHR issues, reporting of
child marriage case are answered between 7 am to 9
pm six days a week except Sunday.
• State Government notification and orders were
compiled on COVID-19 to be shared with field staff and
adolescent group members through WhatsApp group.

17. ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT DURING LOCK
DOWN DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
• Capacity strengthening for adolescent group members on SRHR
components through webinar.
• Personal hygiene kit provided in 70 Information Dissemination
Centers established at community level for adolescent group
members.
• Personal hygiene kit provided to 200 front line health workers
and 60 service providers.
• Established community hand washing facility in 3 strategic
community locations to promote hand washing practice within
adolescent group members and community members.