You will recall that the UK Government initiated the Safe Abortion Action Fund in February 2006 in response to a major new service and advocacy initiative for safe abortion developed by IPPF.

The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) elected IPPF to administer the Safe Abortion Action Fund on behalf of civil society groups and non-governmental organizations worldwide to support a range of work on unsafe abortion.

A call for proposals went out with a deadline for receipt of 30 October 2006. We want to let you know that we have received 222 project proposals, totalling some $43m!

The good news is this is a fantastic response but unfortunately the amount of work involved means it will throw out our timetable. The first Board of the SAAF will be meeting 10/11 January 2007 at which time they will appoint the Technical Review Panel, and immediately after this the projects will start to be reviewed. All projects are currently being reviewed for compliance with the guidelines. We will issue another update immediately after the Board meeting.

The Safe Abortion Action Fund (previously the Global Safe Abortion Fund) is a targeted reserve of resources to enable the implementation of programmes and initiatives to increase access to comprehensive safe abortion services, within a comprehensive package of reproductive health services, with particular regard for the needs of marginalized and vulnerable women.

The UK Government initiated the Safe Abortion Action Fund in February 2006 in response to a major new service and advocacy initiative for safe abortion developed by IPPF. The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) elected IPPF to administer the Safe Abortion Action Fund on behalf of civil society groups and non-governmental organizations worldwide to support a range of work on unsafe abortion.