MenCare+ is a three-year, programme that is being implemented in four countries. It was launched in 2013 to engage men aged 15-35, as partners in maternal and child health (MCH) and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
The programme is supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and is being implemented in Brazil, Indonesia, Rwanda and South Africa by the MenCare+ consortium of organisations.
Working within the public health systems, country partners implement:
- Group education with young men on SRHR, gender equality and caregiving.
- Group education with fathers and their partners on SRHR, MCH, gender equality and caregiving.
- Counselling/group therapy with men who have used violence.
- Workshops with health sector workers on the importance of engaging men in SRHR and MCH services.
- MenCare community campaigns focused on increasing awareness of men’s roles in fatherhood and caregiving.
- Advocacy and alliance building with organisations/governments on related policies like paternity leave, corporal punishment prohibition, and the improvement of health systems in terms of gender transformative policies.
The consortium is also developing and testing evidence-based approaches to enhance the programme’s activities and outcomes. To ensure the sustainability of MenCare+, it is planned that by the end of the project, public health systems will have incorporated its initiatives into their services. The consortium is coordinated by Rutgers and Promundo US, and includes Sonke Gender Justice, Rwanda Men’s Resources Centre, Promundo Brazil and Rutgers WPF Indonesia as implementation partners.
