CEMOPLAF has had success in reaching indigenous areas and with their educational and health services thanks to a strong investigative process. For example: they were able to introduce a contraceptive methods project, which was initially rejected, through a children’s health program. In another population, where health was not a priority, they began implementing agricultural projects, and when these projects well received, CEMOPLAF included an educational health component. One further example is the testing of health promoter acceptance; neither foreigners nor the indigenous were as well-received as mestizas (those of mixed ancestry). In this manner CEMOPLAF’s interventions are tested and modified so that they are able to reach the population most in need of them.
Although CEMOPLAF currently has little financing, they provide their services at the lowest possible cost. They have a booklet of different cost-structures and, in some cases, if the client truly cannot pay, services are provided free-of-charge. They have been able to achieve financial sustainability through the use of cross subsidies between services. For example, laboratory services, colposcopies, and ultrasounds provide higher levels of income, and with these funds clinical and preventative services can be provided at low-cost.
In addition to these programs, CEMOPLAF is carrying out 18 projects for youth. Adolescents under the age of 19 are educated in sexual and reproductive health and trained to be health promoters in order to better educate their partners. They are also provided with free contraceptive products and condoms in order to distribute them or sell them at very low prices. Similar projects have been implemented with Indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian youth, who, through the use of theater, spread messages related to healthcare and prevention.
Mobile services: Together with World Vision and Plan International mobile teams visit several communities where pediatric services, PAP smears, etc. are offered in campaigns. These services are generally offered at very low cost (50 cents or $1) or for free.
Along with the Ministry of Health and CARE, CEMOPLAF forms part of the UNIVIDA Project, which works to diagnose HIV. Preventative campaigns are carried out to prevent vertical transmission, and to improve professional competency regarding the topic.
Thanks to their well known reputation, CEMOPLAF is one of the primary institutions providing education regarding sexual and reproductive health to ministry and medical personnel in health centers. They also form part of the consulting team for resolutions reached by the Ministry of Health and the Metropolitan District of Health in Quito.
Finally, CEMOPLAF was honored in 2005 with a Mayori C. Horn award for operational investigation, which is given yearly by the Population and Sexual and Reproductive Health Office of USAID in Washington. They were nominated for the Gates Award for Global Health in 2008. They have also provided external consulting in the countries of Bolivia (ProSalud) and Guatemala (Afrofam).
