Sukh initiative

Supported by the Aman Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

Aahung was an implementing partner for promoting and institutionalizing Family Life Education (FLE), which is synonymous with LSBE. The Sukh Initiative was a five-year partnership between three foundations that emerged out of commitments made at the London Summit, held in 2012. It began in 2014. 

The Sukh Initiative aimed to increase modern contraceptive use by 15 percent amongst married women in a population of 1 million in selected communities in Karachi. It sought to empower women to access contraception by increasing knowledge, improving quality of services and expanding the basket of choices; contributing to the goals of FP2020. Our role was to prepare young people aged 12-22 years for marital life, gain awareness of their rights and responsibilities, and to help them plan their pregnancies safely. The goal was to target young people prior to their childbearing years, so that they have improved knowledge related to SRHR. Our intervention also aimed to ensure that young people are better able to communicate on SRHR issues and are empowered to make safe decisions regarding their reproductive health. Over the course of this project, we have built the capacity of health care providers, community health workers, lady health workers, tele-health operators, and schoolteachers to implement FLE. Through this education, young people learned about protecting and caring for their own bodies; healthy nutrition and hygiene; violence and preventative strategies; human anatomy and physiology; puberty and related changes; and maternal and health complications.