Lifting Healthy Empowered and Protected Girls and Women in Cox’s Bazar (LEAP)

This project aims to advance the realization of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of adolescent girls and young women in Cox's Bazar host communities and refugee camps. Project activities include: (1) organizing young married women’s groups and training them on gender equality and inclusion SRHR mental health support protection and decision-making; (2) training members of men’s clubs on gender equality and inclusion SRHR sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and mental health; (3) training facility and community-based service providers on gender- and adolescent-responsive and inclusive service delivery and referral on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) SGBV and mental health; (4) refurbishing and equipping government and partner health care facilities and supplying them with job aids and logistics to provide gender- and adolescent-responsive and inclusive SRH SGBV and mental health support services; and (5) identifying local women’s rights organizations and linking them with local young women’s groups and adolescent girls’ groups for collective local action on gender equality SGBV SRHR mental health and harmful traditional practices. LEAP targets marginalized groups in Rohingya camps and host communities facing multifaceted dimensions of exclusion. LEAP aims to directly reach more than 79 000 people including 49 873 women and girls in four unions (the lowest administrative unit) in Ukhiya and Teknaf subdistricts seven unions in Ramu subdistrict eight unions in Cox’s Bazar Sadar subdistrict and two Rohingya refugee camps (for 7 000 of these women and girls).

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved individual and collective agency and resilience of adolescent girls and young women to exercise their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR); (2) strengthened health systems to provide gender- and adolescent-responsive and inclusive SRH SGBV and mental health and psychosocial support services to adolescents and young people particularly girls and young women in Cox’s Bazaar; and (3) enhanced capacity of local stakeholders to advocate for evidence-based and accountable gender- and adolescent- responsive and inclusive SRH and SGBV services and policies.