Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library collection

The Families Matter! Program (FMP) is an evidence-based, parent-focused intervention designed to promote positive parenting and effective parent-child communication about sexuality and sexual risk reduction, including risk for child sexual abuse and gender- based violence, for parents or caregivers of 9-12 year olds in Africa. FMP recognizes that many parents and guardians may need support to effectively convey values and expectations about sexual behavior and communicate important HIV, STD, and pregnancy prevention messages to their children. The ultimate goal of FMP is to reduce sexual risk behavior among adolescents, including delayed onset of sexual debut, by using parents to deliver primary prevention to their children and increasing awareness and protective strategies against child sexual abuse and harmful gender norms that may lead to violence.

As a key partner agency for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), CDC works with PEPFAR-supported countries to provide technical expertise for the adaptation, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of FMP.