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The Director General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Dr Alvaro Bermejo, is in Australia this week for high level meetings with Australian Government Ministers and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). He is joined by Ms Tomoka Fukuda, Regional Director of IPPF’s East and Southeast Asia and Oceania Region (ESEAOR) and Ms Phoebe Ryan, IPPF’s Chief of the Australia and New Zealand Office. In Australia, Dr Bermejo has been privileged to meet with Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, the Hon Pat Conroy. Together, they discussed how Australia can play a leadership role in advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights through Australia’s international development cooperation. Last week, Dr Bermejo and Ms Fukuda visited IPPF’s Member Association in Solomon Islands, the Solomon Islands Planned Parenthood Association (SIPPA). In Solomon Islands, they witnessed SIPPA’s life-saving and critical work delivering sexual and reproductive healthcare on the ground, including mobile outreach in remote communities of Malaita Province. Australia has been a long-standing and critical partner to IPPF, supporting programming to reach women, girls, and marginalized groups across the development–humanitarian continuum around the world, with a particular focus on the Asia Pacific. In December 2022, IPPF and DFAT signed a new four-year global funding agreement for 2023 to 2026, part of which includes dedicated support to programming across the Pacific. AUD 19 million is dedicated as global funding towards the delivery of IPPF’s Strategy 2028, along with a further AUD 5.7 million to support the delivery of IPPF’s Pacific Niu Vaka Strategy, Phase 2. This generous investment will enable IPPF to reach an anticipated 1.8 million people in the Pacific over the next six years with 4.2 million essential sexual and reproductive services. IPPF is proud to stand alongside our Pacific MAs as they continue to advocate for the health and rights of those most underserved and excluded, reaching communities with essential information and high quality, person-centred sexual and reproductive health care.     In 2021, IPPF reached over 72 million people around the world with more than 155 million sexual and reproductive health services and contributed to 121 policy and legislative changes in defence of SRHR. IPPF is grateful for Australia’s ongoing support in enabling this impact. IPPF’s Director General, Alvaro Bermejo shared: “IPPF are delighted to be working with the Australian Government to continue improving the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of women and girls across the globe. We are grateful to them for helping us deliver more services and support at a time when inequalities are deepening, the opposition is growing, and humanitarian crises continue to place the lives of millions, particularly women and girls, at risk. As we look to build the future with our new strategy, continued support from global partners is crucial to achieving a world where everyone has access to sexual and reproductive healthcare. We hope DFAT’s strong global commitment will inspire other global leaders to take action.” For media enquiries, please contact Karmen Ivey on [email protected] or Phoebe Ryan on [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 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.

If you are covering the UK autumn budget and reporting on foreign aid, you may find the below statement from  the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) helpful: “The UK government has already decimated the aid budget and its reputation through severe economic mishandling, cutting billions from the very things that protect people during economic, political and social upheaval, including life-saving sexual and reproductive healthcare. “It is also the only country to be spending the majority of its dedicated overseas aid budget within its own borders, taking advantage of legislation to pay for refugee and asylum costs in the UK rather than increasing domestic and overseas budgets accordingly. “The UK government cannot continue to fight the fire of one humanitarian crisis by diverting much-needed resources from other vulnerable people, nor continue to balance its books on the backs of the poorest people in the world - who, as MP Andrew Mitchell stated, will be damaged, maimed, or die as a result. “This government promised to give women and girls the freedom they need to succeed and prevent the worst forms of human suffering worldwide. If it is to deliver on its promises and revive its sunken reputation, it must spend dedicated budgets correctly, support people in the UK and beyond appropriately, and MP Andrew Mitchell and the Chancellor must ensure a return to the 0.7% as soon as possible.”  

28 January 2022 heralds one year since President Biden rescinded the harmful Global Gag Rule (GGR). Otherwise known as the Mexico City Policy, its expansion in 2017 under Trump affected 12 billion dollars of funding, impacting thousands of life-saving healthcare services worldwide – especially across low-income countries. But while rescindment is a positive first step, the long-term harm of the Global Gag Rule lingers on. For IPPF, 53 healthcare projects in 32 countries were hit, with some Member Associations losing up to 60% of their funding. Programmes affected include HIV prevention and care, maternal health and nutrition, STI services, gender-based violence prevention, and services for vulnerable children. And although we have begun to re-establish long-standing partnerships, it takes time for funding to flow and to re-open closed healthcare clinics and community services – with some lost forever. In the meantime, there are women and girls who desperately need healthcare that have nowhere to turn. But in February, the US Congress has an opportunity to change the sexual and reproductive health landscape forever through a final negotiated funding bill that includes a permanent end to the deadly Global Gag Rule. As we celebrate one year of rescindment, we know the work is not done yet, but we are hopeful for the futures of millions of women and girls worldwide. We urge the US Congress to permanently repeal the Global Gag Rule to fully eradicate the lasting impact of the Mexico City Policy that has harmed women and girls around the world for 40 years.   Dr Alvaro Bermejo, Director-General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, said: "Five years ago, Trump expanded the Global Gag Rule, a devastating neo-colonialist policy that forbids US aid to any organization that supports access to safe abortion care, disproportionately affecting women and girls in low-income countries. Today we mark one year since President Biden rescinded it, but the long-term harm and impacts don't simply go away.  "The Gag Rule is a callously designed mechanism set up to deny women and girls the right to decide what happens to their bodies. Its implementation doesn't just destroy life-saving abortion services but erodes access to other sexual and reproductive healthcare, including contraception, leading ultimately to increases in unintended pregnancy and forcing many to turn to unsafe and dangerous abortion methods.   "While rescindment is a positive first step, the looming threat of reinstatement under future anti-rights administrations undermines the sustainability of global sexual health programs and the pace of progress. After 40 long years, the time to act is now – we urge the US Congress to end this political game and stand up for the futures of millions of at-risk women and girls by permanently repealing the Global Gag Rule.  "By leaving a legacy that gives hope and stability to the sexual and reproductive health of people worldwide, the US will once again be a champion, leader, and innovator of human rights for all." For media inquiries please contact [email protected]