§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to his answer of 14 October 2003,Official Report, column 75–76W, what end of programme assessment his Department has made of the Bolivia Health and Sexual Education programme, 697W with particular reference to (a) the aims successfully achieved and (b) issues still outstanding; what replacement programme his Department has (i) planned and (ii) initiated in Bolivia, including aims and delivery methods, with specific reference to sexual education programmes; and if he will make a statement. [133191]
§ Hilary BennThe Bolivia Health and Sexual Education Project ended in July 2003. An end of project review was undertaken by GTZ on behalf of DFID. It concluded that the project successfully demonstrated the interest and demand for improved health and sex education in Bolivia. The project supported over 1,000 young people (between the ages of 12 and 25) in five departments of Bolivia to take leadership roles in the promotion of health and reproductive rights issues, and promoted better health service delivery to these populations.
The project was less successful in strengthening the supply side of health and sex education services. The Ministry of Education was not prepared to integrate these activities into its curriculum and hence DFID was unable to promote the successful local experiences at national level and is no longer supporting sexual education programmes in Bolivia. DFID is currently investigating whether health and sex education should be incorporated into its new programme promoting more inclusive citizenship and the realisation of human rights.
§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to his answer of 4 October 2003,Official Report, columns 75–76W on reproductive health, what the (a) structure, (b) aims and (c) methods of the Andean Reproductive Health Initiative are; how much of the effort is aimed at (i) Peru and (ii) Bolivia; what support structure is provided to the programme by (A) the Government of Peru, (B) the Government of Bolivia, (C) local and ethnic leaders in Peru, (D) local and ethnic leaders in Bolivia, (E) local non-governmental organisations, (F) national non-governmental organisations; (G) regional non-governmental organisations and (H) international non-governmental organisations; and if he will make a statement. [133198]
§ Hilary BennThe Andean Reproductive Health Initiative (RHI), which ended in July 2002, was a joint collaboration between DFID, the European Commission (EC), and Population Concern, who managed the project. Population Concern together with local, national and regional NGOs, public sector providers and Ministries of Health and Education in Bolivia and Peru, developed ways of improving demand for and access to reproductive health services for marginalised groups. These formed the basis for identifying innovative ways of delivering services to be piloted, and for establishing management systems to support lesson learning focusing on adolescents and marginalised groups. Other civil society groups, such as the Catholic Church were involved in and supported some project initiatives.
The project focused on the improvement of human development opportunities for women and men by reducing the risks they face from dangerous pregnancies, and the improvement of adolescents' access to reproductive and sexual health and information services. 698W The lessons learnt from the initiative were disseminated through a communications strategy to the Governments of Bolivia and Peru, donors and NGOs with a view to improving reproductive health policy and programmes. The programme's overall budget of approximately £1,856 million was split equally between Bolivia and Peru, with DFID contributing £630,000 and the EC Euros 1.7 million.