|
Evaluations
A number of external evaluations have shown the positive results of the Tostan program. Among them are:
Frontiers in Reproductive Health (with the Population Council) (2004)
In 2004, Frontiers in Reproductive Health (with the Population Council) conducted an experimental study to evaluate the success of Tostan’s nonformal education program in 20 villages in which it had been implemented. (They used 20 control villages where the program had not been implemented.) The researchers found that, in terms of knowledge, attitudes, and behavior regarding reproductive health, human rights and FGC, Tostan’s program results were significant. The study states:
The impact of the Tostan program on women’s and men’s well-being has been substantial. The program has been able to bring about a social change within the community and to mobilize the villagers for better environmental hygiene, respect for human rights, and improvement of health. Extending the Tostan program to other areas of
Senegal and to other African countries could make a difference in the well-being of women and of the community as a whole.
Based on this controlled study, Gryboski, et al. in Health Bulletin: A Publication of the Population Reference Bureau compared five community-based programs deemed effective for improving health care. Tostan, one of the five programs, was given the highest overall score for community participation because of our efforts to work on health goals identified by the community.
Population Council (2003)
The Population Council reported on a collaborative project between Tostan and Mwangaza Action in
Burkina Faso designed to replicate the Tostan program. The project was highly successful, as made clear in the project evaluation:
In
Burkina Faso, the community-based education [Tostan] programme involved 23 villages. … During the implementation of the Tostan programme … many positive changes occurred in the participating villages. The communities now promote reproductive health and human rights and hold regular clean-up activities for improving public hygiene. Also, these villages are now standing up against violence toward women. The utilization of health services, antenatal care, family planning and child health have significantly increased. […] At the end of the programme, the 23 communities made a public declaration for abandonment of the practice of FGC in front of 5,000 villagers, religious, traditional and political leaders, the media and programme managers from government, NGOs, and international organizations.
References
Diop, Nafissatou, et. al. "The Tostan Program: Evaluation of a Community-based Education Program in
Senegal." Frontiers Final
Report. Population Council, 2004.
———. "Replication of the Tostan Programme in
Burkina Faso: How 23 Villages Participated in a Human-Rights-based
Education Programme and Abandoned the Practice of Female Genital Cutting in
Burkina Faso." Population Council, 2003.
Gryboski, Kristina, et, al. “Working with the Community for Improved Health.” Health Bulletin, no. 3.
Washington,
DC: Population Reference Bureau, 2006.
|
