Media Contact: Laurel Lundstrom, llundstrom@pathfinder.org
July 13, 2022 — Pathfinder is pleased to announce that its Ma’an project (“Together”) in Egypt will incorporate an innovative approach to climate resilience in communities hard hit by climate shocks and extreme weather.
For the past four years, Pathfinder, supported by Merck for Mothers, has implemented Ma’an in the Sohag region of Egypt, strengthening the capacity of local service providers (non-governmental, private, and community) to respond to the family planning and reproductive health needs of young married women and first-time parents.
With a new focus on climate resilience, Pathfinder will build on its women-centered programming in the governorate by working with women to build more climate-resilient communities. Alongside local partners, Pathfinder will:
- Develop green clinics, which are health clinics prepared for climate shocks, and apply environmentally friendly solutions like solar panels, efficient water utilization, waste disposals, and recycling.
- Increase women’s agency and ability to influence climate adaptation and educate communities, with a special focus on how to combat climate-related health issues.
- Work with healthcare providers to address health risks posed by climate change.
- Carry out an advocacy campaign with community leaders and through home visits to women’s households. This campaign will emphasize the importance of men’s participation in reproductive health and family planning, working to address gender norms through gender-transformative approaches.
“The Government of Egypt has recently released its National Strategy for Climate Change 2050,” said Mohamed Abou Nar, Pathfinder’s Country Director in Egypt. “By addressing climate resilience through our Ma’an project, we will be supporting Egypt’s push to build resilience and support healthy communities.”
Egypt has a strong commitment to combating climate change and is preparing to host COP27—the 27th Session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties —later this year.
“With this targeted expansion that incorporates climate-resilience education and advocacy, we will make our Ma’an program stronger, give women and girls more agency to improve health and well-being, and contribute to Egypt’s national climate agenda,” said Mahi Bebawi, Project Director, Ma’an Project.
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Pathfinder International is driven by the conviction that all people, regardless of where they live, have the right to decide whether and when to have children, to exist free from fear and stigma, and to lead the lives they choose. As a global health organization with locally led, community-driven programs, Pathfinder supports women to make their own reproductive health decisions. Pathfinder works with local partners to advance contraceptive services, comprehensive abortion care, and young people’s sexual and reproductive rights in communities around the world—including those affected by poverty, conflict, climate change, and natural disasters. Taken together, Pathfinder’s programs enable millions of people to choose their own paths forward.
