In September 2024, Catalystas Consulting supported one of our international NGO clients based in Iraq to consider how to handover a Reproductive Health Rights Platform that has been designed as part of a larger international project. Initially developed by our client but not yet launched at the time of this service provision, the platform aimed to empower Iraqi youth by providing scientific, evidence-based reproductive health information in Arabic, Kurdish, and English. However, the platform remained offline as our client prepared to exit the project, necessitating the identification of a local organization capable of assuming full ownership and management.
The platform which was conceived to foster dialogue and education on sensitive reproductive health topics in a culturally nuanced and accessible manner. Catalystas was tasked with ensuring a smooth transition to a qualified host organization to secure the platform’s sustainability and future impact. Despite its powerful foundation and potential, the platform was yet to be launched. With our client’s planned exit from the project, the challenge was clear—finding a capable local organization to inherit and champion the platform, ensuring its sustainability in a complex, resource-strapped context. Catalystas, renowned for its intersectional feminist approach and deep expertise in conflict-affected regions, took up the mantle to identify the right steward for this critical tool.
From the start, the Catalystas team approached the project with a blend of rigor and cultural sensitivity to the Iraqi context, where reproductive health and the topic of women’s empowerment and gender justice are often considered private matters, laden with societal taboos. The team recognized the critical need for this platform, particularly in the Kurdish language, where resources on reproductive health rights—aligned with the conservative cultural and Islamic contexts of Iraq—are scarce, leaving many without access to education to make informed reproductive health decisions.
Catalystas’ team of two multilingual researchers employed a comprehensive approach to address our client’s requirements:
Designed a Technical and Financial Requirements Dossier for running the SRHR platform in the future; outlining the technical, financial, and content management needs for a successful transition. The dossier included cost estimates, role definitions, and operational insights critical for sustainability.
The task of finding a suitable steward for the platform was anything but straightforward. As the project unfolded, Catalystas encountered a dynamic landscape that demanded adaptability and ingenuity. Many organizations hesitated to engage due to perceived challenges, including the lack of financial and technical support accompanying the handover. These constraints required Catalystas to recalibrate priorities and tools to ensure recommendations remained realistic and actionable.
The team responded by refining outreach strategies and emphasizing clear communication to articulate the platform’s mission and the support required for its successful implementation. Through a combination of direct engagement, persistent follow-ups, and creative outreach, Catalystas ensured that even organizations initially hesitant were given the opportunity to understand the platform’s value and potential impact.
Amid these efforts, Catalystas identified key organizations capable of aligning with the SRHR platform’s goals and outlined detailed recommendations to facilitate the transition. The recommendations included:
Catalystas highlighted the importance of structured collaboration and ongoing engagement to ensure a smooth and sustainable handover process.
This project underscored the broader realities of development work in fragile contexts: success requires not only identifying capable partners but also addressing structural barriers that hinder progress. Catalystas’ ability to adapt to shifting circumstances and its commitment to fostering locally driven solutions provided a solid foundation for the platform’s future.
Ultimately, Catalystas delivered more than just a transition plan. The roadmap provided a vision for empowerment, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, capacity building, and a shared commitment to advancing reproductive health rights in Iraq. Through its work, Catalystas ensured that the promise envisioned in our clients project would resonate far beyond its digital origins, becoming a catalyst for meaningful change in the lives of Iraqi youth.
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Amélie is a French-Canadian strategic development consultant with over 15 years of international experience on all continents, with the past six years focused on Asia Pacific and East Africa. Former social entrepreneur, regional NGO exec, researcher and lawyer-by-trade among other titles; she is a diverse professional currently based in Nairobi, Kenya. Amélie has worked in consulting on and off for 11 years across a range of industries and sectors, and has notably provided multiple market penetration and M&E analysis services, as well as risk assessments on the topics of forced labor and child labor in supply chains in Africa and in Asia.
Amélie completed her law degree in Quebec, Canada, and holds a Masters in International Law gained in Beijing, China. She has worked with organizations including the Thomson Reuters Foundation as Asia Pacific Manager (2019-2021), where she managed a portfolio of 250+ human rights research and advisory projects, prior to which she co-founded a social enterprise in the renewable energy sector in Rwanda, on the border of the DRC.
Amélie is proud to dedicate her time to driving social change through economic development and sustainable growth projects concretely in Southeast Asia and East Africa, and globally virtually. Amelie loves travelling, eating, and getting out of her comfort zone.
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