The Kazakhstan Association for Sex and Reproductive Health (KMPA) was established in 1997, with funding and assistance from IPPF. Currently KMPA has thirteen branches and two regional offices, in Kostanay and Astana.
Kazakhstan Association on Sexual and Reproductive Health (KMPA) has established a close collaboration with other IPPF Member Associations in Central Asia, including those in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
This collaborative relationship was established through work on the 'Peer Led Sexuality Education Project' in 2001. Collaboration with other Central Asian Member Associations continued in the 2002 – 2003 initiative, 'Protecting Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of People on the Move', a project focused on the health and rights of refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other migrants in Central Asia.
The goal of the more recent 'People on the Move' project was to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights of refugees, returnees, IDPs and migrants through the provision of high quality, accessible sexual and reproductive health and rights information and services.
It is estimated that more than 50,000 IDPs and refugees live in Kazakhstan.
The risks of unwanted pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, are especially high when people live with poverty, instability, and trauma, as ‘people on the move’ often do.
Through this project, KMPA and other Central Asian Member Associations assisted both in the establishment of twelve new sexual and reproductive health facilities (provided with equipment, contraceptives, and information materials) and in the training of trainers in counselling and quality of care maintenance for sexual and reproductive health.
Education and awareness-raising campaigns are also important aspects of KMPA’s work. 242 teachers were trained in new methods and received the ‘Teachers’ HIV/AIDS Guidelines,’ developed by KMPA professionals and volunteers.
The Kostanay and Taraz branches of KMPA are successfully implementing the 'National Information Campaign to Prevent Trafficking in Women and Children', developed by the International Organization of Migration (IOM).
This project is designed to prevent trafficking in women and children in Kazakhstan by raising awareness in the general population (and especially with women) regarding the serious risks related to trafficking.
KMPA organized an information campaign which involved the publication and dissemination of handouts, press releases and articles, establishing a new hotline, and providing training courses for non-governmental organization and government officials.