In 2013, we will again be working in partnership with Aktion Regen, an Austrian public health NGO to provide workshops,  training, outreach programmes and in-house sessions to ensure more and more people in Rwanda and beyond are informed about their reproductive health, and thus empowered to make informed decisions about their lives and futures. 
Current provision of sexual health information and materials is insufficient, with little or no information available in schools or in everyday life.  We have been aware of a lack of understanding amongst the majority of our beneficiaries, and thus here is a real need for accessible, culturally relevant sexual health information to help the youth population safeguard themselves. As a result, UNICEF have noted that young people, and girls in particular, remain at increased risk of contracting HIV/AIDS in Kigali despite the generally low prevalence rate in Rwanda.  Further, they estimate that 22,200 children under the age of 15 live with HIV. 

 At the Centre Marembo, we provide information and education about reproductive health, family planning, and HIV/AIDS to the teenagers we work with, to students, and to the wider community.  We have designed a training programme with unique training materials and teaching aids (including family planning fertilisation necklaces and fabric uterus teaching aids) which the programme’s manager and main trainer Nicolette Nsabimana has delivered throughout Rwanda.  We also provide regular workshops for all beneficiaries at the Centre, as well as space for discussion and debate. 

The reproductive health programme is run internationally, and in 2012 sessions were held in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia.  In partnerships with local hospitals and health centres, we also provide HIV testing and health checks, and providing information and long-term support to families affected by HIV/AIDS, helping them access and maintan an antiretroviral regime and other essential health services.  Since 2010, the programme has reached more than 2000 people, delivering training to women’s organisations, remote villages, health workers and students.