Centre for Development and Population Activities
Encyclopedia
The Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls in developing countries through education, health and training programs.

History

CEDPA was founded in 1975 as the Centre for Population Activities. The initial focus of the organization was improving health and community development
Community development
Community development is a broad term applied to the practices and academic disciplines of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of local communities....

 by training family planning
Family planning
Family planning is the planning of when to have children, and the use of birth control and other techniques to implement such plans. Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and...

 managers to ensure those programs reflected community needs. At that time, management was seen as a man’s job and 80 percent of initial training participants were men. Very few women led community-based health and nutrition organizations, despite providing most of the services in the communities. Fewer still were in top government ranks where reproductive health
Reproductive health
Within the framework of the World Health Organization's definition of health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, reproductive health, or sexual health/hygiene, addresses the reproductive processes, functions and system...

 policies were formulated.

CEDPA developed its first comprehensive training for women in 1978 and since that time has trained over 5,000 women, men and youth in a range of critical development topics. These alumni have advanced to assume various leadership positions around the world, including heads of local organizations, ministers and parliamentarians.

The organization also expanded to work in partnership with local organizations to improve education, health and well-being of women and their families within communities worldwide. By providing sub-grants and technical assistance to local partners, CEDPA strengthens community organizations for lasting change. The organization has awarded nearly $100 million in sub-grants to local organizations and women’s groups since its founding.

Organization and beliefs

At the core of CEDPA’s work is the belief that women are critical for advancing global development, democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

 and progress
Social progress
Social progress is the idea that societies can or do improve in terms of their social, political, and economic structures. This may happen as a result of direct human action, as in social enterprise or through social activism, or as a natural part of sociocultural evolution...

. CEDPA works closely with women leaders, local partners and other organizations to expand access to education for women and girls, improve reproductive health
Reproductive health
Within the framework of the World Health Organization's definition of health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, reproductive health, or sexual health/hygiene, addresses the reproductive processes, functions and system...

 and confront HIV/AIDS, and train and empower women to become leaders in their communities and countries. CEDPA also holds regional and global training workshops and regularly publishes materials related to Gender and Development
Gender and Development
The Gender and Development approach is a way of determining how best to structure development projects and programs based on analysis of gender relationships...

. Through social mobilization and advocacy
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...

, CEDPA works to change policy, social norms, and behavior to yield sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...

.
CEDPA believes that:
  • gender equality
    Gender equality
    Gender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...

     is essential to progress
  • improving the future for women begins with girls
  • solutions and programs must be comprehensive and tailored to each community
  • men and boys must be included and engaged
  • working with local organizations prompts sustainability
    Sustainability
    Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...

    .

Programs

CEDPA is an international leader in designing and implementing programs to improve the lives of women and girls in developing countries. CEDPA's programs:
  • increase educational opportunities for girls and youth;
  • ensure access to lifesaving reproductive health and HIV/AIDS information and services; and
  • strengthen governance and women’s leadership.

To ensure that women have the skills to advance development
Community development
Community development is a broad term applied to the practices and academic disciplines of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of local communities....

 in their nations, CEDPA also sponsors global training programs to build leadership abilities, technical expertise and program management skills on a range of critical issues.

CEDPA programs and projects are funded and supported by individual donors, US government grants from agencies including the US Agency for International Development and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, private foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....

, and international agencies such as the United Nations Development Programme.

Publications


External links

  • http://www.cedpa.org (official site)
  • http://www.phishare.org/partners/CEDPA
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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