In December 2016, MenCare partners launched Program P Bolivia, an adaptation of MenCare’s Program P methodology, specific to the context of El Alto, Bolivia. Program P, named for “padre” in Spanish and “pai” in Portuguese, meaning “father,” provides concrete strategies and activities to engage men in active fatherhood from their partners’ pregnancies through their children’s early years.
The program identifies best practices for engaging men in fatherhood and caregiving; in maternal, newborn, and child health; and in the prevention of violence against women and children. It is designed for use by health workers, social activists, nonprofit organizations and NGOs, educators, and other individuals and institutions with the goal of improving family well-being and promoting gender equality.
The Bolivian adaptation includes a manual for fathers and another for mothers. Interviews with fathers, mothers, young men and women, and health workers helped to tailor the global methodology to El Alto’s local reality. The program in El Alto is currently undergoing an impact evaluation.
Program P was originally created by MenCare partners Fundación CulturaSalud/EME (Chile), Red de Masculinidad por la Igualdad de Género (REDMAS, Nicaragua), and Equimundo (Brazil and the United States). Program P Bolivia is financed by the Inter-American Development Bank, and its implementation in El Alto is being carried out by the Andean Rural Health Council (CSRA).
Read the full manual, Programa P Bolivia: Un manual para la paternidad activa, here.