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IPPF condemns the multiple school arsons across the French-speaking Wallonia region in Belgium over the past week, which have been connected to public protests against the compulsory “education in relationships, affective and sexual life” (EVRAS) program. These targeted attacks are evidence of a growing movement opposed to Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) curricula, and the duty of states to support and protect children in their sexual development. IPPF is deeply concerned that a small cadre of those with extremist views are targeting schools with violence, which serve as vital safe spaces for children and young people to become educated, empowered citizens.  In the face of global misinformation campaigns and attempts to silence the organizations and institutions providing high quality comprehensive sexuality education, IPPF affirms that these programs empower children and young people to protect their health and well-being and support them in developing healthy and positive relationships throughout their lives.  Dr. Alvaro Bermejo, IPPF Director General said:  “The violent attacks on schools in Belgium are proof of how anti-rights campaigners are multiplying around the world and fuelling divisions by spreading false or misleading information about existing education curricula. We know from decades of research and our own programmatic experience in this area that comprehensive sexuality education helps children and young people to understand and enjoy their sexuality, take responsibility for their own sexual and reproductive health and rights and respect other people’s. We stand with the educators in Belgium who are delivering on a sex education curriculum that promotes children and young people’s rights.”  Research shows that parents and young people agree that sexuality education should be offered in schools, and that parents are willing to join these programs, particularly as they help their children to navigate relationships and sexuality amid the complex challenges of the digital era. Many governments around the world, including Belgium, are making sexuality education programs a national priority to protect all children and young people from harm.  IPPF stands with the schools and educators delivering this vital education in Belgium and around the world, and we remain committed to providing children and young people with the knowledge to protect and promote their safety, health and wellbeing.  For media inquiries, contact [email protected]   Banner image: Shutterstock

If you are covering the UK International Development Committee’s FCDO Equality Impact Assessment, and the implications for global sexual and reproductive health and rights, you may find the below statement from the International Planned Parenthood Federation helpful: The UK’s brutal cuts are a tragic blow for the world's poorest and most marginalized women and girls.    The assessment outlines cuts to the department's Overseas Development Assistance budget worth more than £900m for this year, including allocated funding for vital sexual and reproductive health services.   In particular, IPPF faces cuts to its flagship programme: the Women's Integrated Sexual Health Programme (WISH), which delivers life-saving contraception and sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls in some of the world’s poorest and most marginalized communities. At inception in 2018 the programme delivered services across 15 countries in Africa and South Asia but had to scale down due to budget cuts with Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Zambia closing out in August 2021. Mozambique closed out in September 2021 and Afghanistan in December 2021. Finally, Pakistan closed out in 2022, leaving the programme running in nine countries in sub-Saharan Africa at a smaller scale.   The 2022-2023 budget cut of over 50% has seen further scaling down of in-country programmes resulting in lowered programme implementation coverage with reduced health facility support, reduced community outreaches, reduced community engagement and overall reduced access to sexual and reproductive services to the most marginalised groups.  According to the latest assessment, cuts to WISH will reduce protection for women with "the number of unsafe abortions averted from nearly 300,000 to approximately 115,000; number of maternal deaths averted will drop from 2,531 to just over 1,000".  Mina Barling, IPPF’s Director of External Relations said:  “As we warned in 2021 and as demonstrated in the government’s own assessment, the devastating cuts to IPPF’s flagship programme in Africa and Asia mean thousands of women and girls will die - many from the indignity of an unsafe abortion, or in childbirth. To add further insult to injury, it has now left the most marginalised exposed to an aggressive opposition.   The UK aid cuts did not happen in isolation. They compounded a transnational far-right regime that began during President Trump’s reign in the United States. In the most extraordinary of circumstances, the space left by civil society meant autocratic actors were now able to move rapidly, shrinking democratic space, and in doing so, exploiting new opportunities to further embed an anti-rights agenda.   It is no coincidence that this has happened in countries (such as Uganda and Kenya) where the UK government had been a critical partner, where we are watching as anti-LGBTIQ+ legislation translates into increased violence and threatens incarceration and even the death penalty. This is a moment of crisis, which if left unaddressed, is an open invitation to others to replicate vitriolic policies, legislation and narratives.  We are reaching a tipping point. We must connect the dots and take action now. We implore the UK government to restore its aid budget to pre-pandemic levels of 0.7% of Gross National Income. We urgently need the UK’s leadership, support, and investment so that IPPF and its partners can continue providing critical care where it is most needed. The lives of millions depend on it."  Fact box  Since its launch in 2018 and the end of December 2022, the WISH programme prevented an estimated:    12.2 million unintended pregnancies    4.1 million unsafe abortions    20,500 maternal deaths                               Today, 218 million women want to access contraception but can't access it  35 million women each year still resort to an unsafe abortion.    20 million adolescents face an unmet need for contraception. For girls aged 15-19, pregnancy and childbirth complications are the leading cause of death globally.    Pregnancy and marriage are the main reasons why adolescent girls drop out of school, and Africa has the highest adolescent pregnancy rate in the world.    As a result of the pandemic, 12 million women and girls have lost access to contraception, leading to 1.4 million unintended pregnancies. This is what happens when access to SRHR care is uninterrupted.      About WISH  The Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) programme is the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) largest Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) delivery programme. The WISH programme delivers progress towards UK commitments on universal SRHR and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets by contributing to reductions in maternal deaths, unsafe abortions, and unintended pregnancies in Africa and South Asia.   The Lot 2 WISH consortium (W2A) is led by International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) with Marie Stopes Reproductive Choices (MSI), International Rescue Committee (IRC), Development Media International (DMI), Options, and Humanity and Inclusion (HI).    In the project’s first phase, the WISH2ACTION Consortium operated in the following countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burundi, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Pakistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. For the second phase, the project has continued across Burundi, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.  About the International Planned Parenthood Federation  The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is a global service provider and advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.    For over 65 years, IPPF, through its 118 Member Associations and 15 partners, has delivered high-quality sexual and reproductive healthcare and helped advance sexual rights, especially for people with intersectional and diverse needs that are currently unmet. Our Member Associations and partners are independent organizations that are locally owned, which means the support and care they provide is informed by local expertise and context.  We advocate for a world where people are provided with the information they need to make informed decisions about their sexual health and bodies. We stand up and fight for sexual and reproductive rights and against those who seek to deny people their human right to bodily autonomy and freedom. We deliver care that is rooted in rights, respect, and dignity - no matter what.  For media inquiries please contact [email protected]   

The unmet need for contraceptives is estimated to have soared to nearly 50% in some parts of Turkiye, including Hatay province, following the earthquakes on 6 February 2023. This is a worrying trend, as the unmet need had already been on the rise from 6% in 2013 to 12% in 2018 in Turkiye.  The Association of Public Health Specialists (HASUDER), IPPF’s local partner in Türkiye, is the only provider of contraception in some camps for internally-displaced persons (IDPs) following the devastating 7.8 and 7.6 earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and displaced millions. Professor Bülent Kılıç, head of HASUDER, said that while government services are mandated to deliver contraceptive supplies to health clinics inside IDP camps, services have generally focused on pregnancy and birth services. He said: ”Physicians who provide contraceptive methods, including inserting intrauterine devices (IUDs) are rare or fully absent. There is no awareness about this service gap.” Kılıç also describes serious hygiene problems for women in the camps, where basic needs such as clean toilets and bathrooms are not being met. Kılıç continued: “We have seen that contraceptive services are only provided in gynaecology clinics in hospitals, and even then it is offered very little and only if requested. This issue is related to the government's perspective on women and women's rights.” HASUDER’s reproductive health unit, which was established with support from IPPF and Hatay Municipality in Lions and Mersin Municipality Tent City in Hatay, has been providing sexual and reproductive health services to 3,000 people since March 2023. These services include maternal and neonatal care, contraceptive care, safe abortion care, and counselling for sexual and gender-based violence. HASUDER is providing contraceptive methods including intrauterine devices, oral contraceptives and condoms, but reports that underwear, sanitary pads, birth control pills, emergency contraception pills and condoms are still among the most needed items for women. HASUDER has also reported a rise in unplanned pregnancies due to the dearth of contraceptives available. Violence against women and girls - already a serious issue in Turkey - is exacerbated in every humanitarian emergency, and persists in the IDP camps. IPPF estimates that 3.9 million women of reproductive age, over 175,000 pregnant women, and more than 1.2 million adolescent girls (aged 10-19) were affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye. We anticipate more than 8,700 currently pregnant women will experience delivery complications. For media enquiries, please contact [email protected] or Nerida Williams, Senior Humanitarian Communications Advisor, [email protected]  About the International Planned Parenthood Federation The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is a global service provider and advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.  For 70 years, IPPF, through its 118 Member Associations and seven partners, has delivered high-quality sexual and reproductive healthcare and helped advance sexual rights, especially for people with intersectional and diverse needs that are currently unmet. Our Member Associations and partners are independent organisations that are locally owned, which means the support and care they provide is informed by local expertise and context. We advocate for a world where people have the information they need to make informed decisions about their sexual health and bodies. We stand up and fight for sexual and reproductive rights and against those who seek to deny people their human right to bodily autonomy and freedom. We deliver care that is rooted in rights, respect, and dignity - no matter what.  

Today, on International Women’s Day, France has made it clear to the world that they stand shoulder to shoulder with women and girls in support of their non-negotiable freedoms by committing to enshrining abortion as a fundamental human right within the French constitution. We applaud President Macron for this decision.  We want to thank our Member Association, Mouvement Français pour le Planning Familial and the feminist movement for never giving up the fight for women and people who want to end their pregnancy on their own terms with dignity, care and respect.  This momentous decision comes at a time when safe abortion care is under attack at an unprecedented level in the global north. We hope this decision inspires other nations to do more to protect the privacy, dignity and human rights of women and girls from political extremists who seek to force women and girls into giving birth.  We need more courage and action from the national leaders to protect and support women and girls. If you are a politician who believes in human rights; act now without fear. If you are someone who can vote or organize; demand more of your government, take to the streets, let them hear your voice, take your pen to the ballot if they do not listen.  IPPF will continue to work with activists, feminist movements, politicians and communities to protect and advance abortion care without apology and without fear. Today and every day we stand with women and girls, everywhere.