Introduction

LEAD’s mission is to create, strengthen and support networks of people and institutions promoting change towards sustainable development—development that is economically sound, environmentally responsible and socially equitable. The organization emphasizes multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral engagement on sustainable development that is directly linked to Family Planning/ Reproductive Health (FP/RH) leading to potential default on national Millennium Development Goal (MDG) commitments.  Two years back, LEAD initiated a two years capacity-building and social mobilization project aimed at developing holistic and visionary leadership to improve FP/RH

situation in Khairpur and Lodhran. The project, ‘Enabling Effective District Leadership for Reproductive Health (LRH-I) in Pakistan’, in partnership with David Lucile and Packard Foundation successfully concluded in November 2009.

In an attempt to develop on its experiences of LRH – I, and also to further enrich the existing social and intellectual capacities, LRH – II is envisaged to set up a self sustaining, participatory process which can improve RH indicators in any district. The project aims to encapsulate the learning from LRH I and II into an effective document which will not only improve the districts’ RH indicators but will also provide a replicable model for the policy makers to endorse.

LRH II will develop an interlocking matrix which involves the community, civil society and the government to undertake a sustained improvement in the RH indicators of Districts Khairpur and Lodhran. The project focuses more on Khairpur, but will also help build a 20 members civic watch group in Lodhran to assist, monitor and shape policy level dialogue for bettering the RH environment.

The project proposes to assimilate another group of 34 members to form a larger more effective group.  This new group and the human capital already in place from LRH I will disseminate knowledge on RH and FP issues through Village Assemblies and Focus Group Discussions in all of the Talukas of the district,  and will act as a watch group on RH policy. The cohort will go through a series of trainings for the development of their visionary, practicable skills, knowledge and attitudes. These trainings will highlight the cause and effect link between FP/RH and SD, especially the poverty-health nexus, public health and environmental determinants and the governance that underlies all policy formulation and implementation.

The new cohort will sensitize the community towards RH issues and mobilize them to take measures to address them. Lead will facilitate the cohort in documentation (case studies, policy briefs, and newsletters), enabling information exchange, and customization of future training by fellows, and facilitation in the policy issues.

The cohort will also contribute in enriching the district policy environment through meetings with the district and local governments and mobilization of multiple stakeholders. Hence, by the end of the project, the cohort will be able to develop, document and disseminate the replicable models which will be effective in bringing about the desired change necessary for sustainable development in the country.