The Population Council’s Evidence Project, with support from USAID/Egypt and in collaboration with a local NGO, Port Fouad Childhood and Motherhood Association (PFCMA), implemented a project that aimed at increasing demand for FP/RH services among young male and female factory workers in Port Said. The project intervention targeted male and female garment factory workers aged 18–35 in eight factories in Port Said’s Free Investment Zone. A total of 300 young male and female factory workers in the eight project factories were trained as peer educators to communicate health messages to their colleagues through face-to-face communication, social and behavior change communication materials, and social media.
Throughout the project, peer educators disseminated messages to nearly 24,000 workers in all eight factories. In addition, factory nurses were trained to offer FP/RH counseling and to refer factory workers seeking FP services to private providers outside of the factory setting. The private providers were also trained by YHP. A total of 35 factory nurses, 277 pharmacists, and 64 private physicians were trained in FP/RH counseling and/or service provision.
The project has garnered support from factory owners and local stakeholders, and has facilitated the establishment of a Women’s Health Clinic (WHC) in the Investment Zone of Port Said with support from PFCMA, the Investors’ Association in Port Said, and Etisalat Foundation, to provide family planning and reproductive health services for nearly 20,000 female factory workers.
To ensure the sustainability of the intervention, the project established a health committee (HC) in each factory to manage factory worker health programs, including the integration of FP/RH services. The HC is composed of 7–10 members, representing male and female workers, managers, healthcare providers, and other staff in the factory.
Under the USAID-funded Strengthening Egypt’s Family Planning Program (SEFPP), the Population Council collaborated with John Snow Inc. on scaling up the above intervention into seven factories in Upper Egypt and Cairo specialized in manufacturing garments and textiles, tobacco, plastics, and food products to reach 3,425 male and female workers.
Also, in partnership with the Netherlands Embassy in Egypt and the Egyptian Chamber for Apparel and Home Textiles, the Population Council is scaling up the provision of family planning/reproductive health information and services in 10 factories in the Amreya Industrial Zone in Alexandria with the aim of reaching approximately 20,000 factory workers.
