Sexual and reproductive health for both men and women, as well as family planning, are key issues in any society, and for decades there has been a local organization that has been carrying the mantle in these areas.GRPA’s Executive Director, Patricia Sheerattan-BisnauthThe Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA) was established in 1973 as an educational, training and family planning institution, but in 1995 the entity expanded its scope and developed a more holistic approach. Today it would be safe to assert that it is one of the leading non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the area of sexual and reproductive health and chronic diseases, providing optimum services in a safe and comfortable environment.GRPA is an associate member of an umbrella organization known as the Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation Ltd (CFPA).The CFPA serves 13 island-Member Associations and 6 Associate Member Associations in the Caribbean, Central and South America. It supports these Associations with technical assistance and materials, and represents their collective interests at International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) meetings and in the Caribbean region among governments and NGOs.CFPA Island Member Associations are located in Anguilla, Antigua,Jerseys NFL Cheap, Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent. CFPA Associate Member Associations are located in Belize, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.In a recent interview with this publication Mrs. Patricia Sheeratan-Bisnauth, Executive Director of the GRPA said over the years the organization has added numerous services to those initially offered. She said that the main objective is to develop high quality sustainable services and programmes in the area of sexual and reproductive health.Through funding from the New-York based IPPF, the United Nations Population Fund, an annual Government subvention and United States Agency for International Developmemt, the GRPA has been able to keep most of its vital services open to the public.At its Quamina Street-based clinic, the GRPA offers family planning services via its very competent physicians. According to Mrs. Bisnauth, the clinic offers pap smears, colonoscopies, punch biopsies and cryosurgery, and has facilities for the diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections including HIV.The building which houses the entity’s clinic and other offices.In addition, there are services for Gynecological conditions – irregular menstrual cycle, menopause, infertility; Family Planning – orals, injectables,Cheap Wholesale Jerseys, condoms, Intra-uterine devices, Medical Termination of Pregnancy, Pelvic Examination. There is pregnancy testing, Pre-natal Care, Voluntary Counselling and Testing, Testicular Examination and Management of Sexually Transmitted Infections. Focus is also placed on Chronic Diseases – diabetes, hypertension and arthritisThe outlet provides access to a full range of contraceptive methods, including voluntary sterilization for men and women. There is a small fee attached,Cheap Jerseys China, but no one is ever turned away if they cannot afford to pay. The mission statement of the GRPA is “Promoting, advocating, providing services and support, and ensuring that every person, particularly those who are poor and vulnerable,Cheap Jerseys From China, have access to information, education and services needed to attain and maintain good sexual health and family life.”Apart from its clinical services, the GRPA also caters to teens and young adults through its Youth Advocacy Movement (YAM) programme. The YAM, as it is called, runs special youth initiatives, including an Under-20 Club. This provides training and support for out-of-school young people and teenage parents. Public engagement with sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) issues is promoted through lectures, family planning discussions, radio spots, poster displays and the distribution of pamphlets, brochures and manuals.Mrs. Bisnauth explained that the youth arm of the GRPA targets in-school youths including with the aim of educating them on sexual and reproductive health issues. This is done through lectures at schools, upon invitation. YAM also has an open-door policy where youths can walk in and have interactive sessions with staffers of the GRPA as well as use the entity’s research centre for vital information.Nurse Fraser with school students during one of many lecture sessions.“In order to help reduce some of the social issues we have, we need to get to the core; we have to educate the young and upcoming population so that they don’t fall into the troubling social cycles. We need to make information available