With the Application proving itself across Punjab in Phase-II, MASHAL kicked off with another phase of the project, i.e., “Bridge the GAP Phase-III”.

Phase-III completed the Bridge The GAP ecosystem. The iOS version of the Application was developed, approved and launched, making Bridge The GAP available on Android, iOS and Web — Pakistan’s first of its own kind online tool on Family Planning. All three versions were centralised so that every update reaches every user at once. The Application was also deepened: the LSBE curriculum was added in English and Urdu, an E-Store was built so that sexual wellness and reproductive health products can be ordered online at discounted rates and delivered to the doorstep, and a dedicated Domestic Abuse helpline was added in response to the rise in domestic violence during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The geo-tagged directory now carries 2,500+ Family Health Clinics offering free of cost Family Planning services.

Because the year was spent under COVID-19 restrictions, the advocacy went digital. 16 Open MIC Sessions were held, virtually and in person, led and spoken by young people themselves, reaching Lahore, Multan, Islamabad, Bahawalnagar, Sialkot, Okara and Sheikhupura, with participants joining from Quetta, Peshawar, Mardan, Charsadda, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh, DG Khan, Jhang, Layyah, Chiniot and Sahiwal. A YouTube channel was launched carrying an 11-part Mini Drama Series and the original song “Ye Log”, taking the Family Planning message to young audiences in a language they actually watch.

With Phase-III we reached 640 Direct Beneficiaries against a target of 220, and more than 150,000 Indirect Beneficiaries through our digital platforms. During this phase the Founder of MASHAL, Laraib Abid, was selected to the Prime Minister’s National Youth Council as Focal Person for Policy Drafting and Recommendation on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.