Blog 11

For my NGO, I chose a group called RHIYA in Bangladesh, which stands for EU/UNFPA Reproductive Health Initiative for Youth in Asia. This group basically works to bring sex education and gender sensitivity education to people age 10-24 in countries where traditional values may prevent this important information from being given to young people.

This group’s work is a gender issue because older members of many Bangladesh communities tend to view young people who are knowledgeable about sexual issues as immoral, especially if those young people are women. In Bangladesh, women are at a greater risk of reproductive and sexual health problems and are generally less likely to receive education about these issues. This group will help put an end to that.

Since the group’s founding in Bangladesh, contraceptive use has increased from 60-78% and young people’s knowledge of STDs has increased from 1.5-20.6%. It’s important that RHIYA has the funding and support to bring education to women in these areas would otherwise be at a higher risk for unwanted pregnancy, STDs, and HIV/AIDS.

This group is relatively unknown in the United States, so reviews are few and far between, but in countries where RHIYA operates, like Bangladesh, the response has been mostly positive. Their website is http://www.asia-initiative.org/bangladesh.php?area=2&page=1&option=1