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IPPF remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting its Member Association, the Syrian Family Planning Association (SFPA), in providing essential SRHR services for all. Within the uncertainty and instability, we continue to work together with SFPA to empower communities, protect the rights of women and adolescents, and address the urgent needs of marginalized populations, particularly in the face of increased vulnerability. Our collective mission stands firm: we are committed to ensuring that dignity, health, and choice are accessible to all, regardless of political or social challenges. Even in these uncertain times, we believe that SRHR services must continue - because the need for family planning, maternal healthcare, and gender-based violence (GBV) support does not diminish, even in the midst of conflict. Syria is enduring a difficult period of transition, but sexual and reproductive health cannot be sidelined. The health and well-being of Syria’s most vulnerable populations, especially women and youth, remain a top priority. The work of SFPA is more essential than ever, as it continues to provide vital services such as family planning, postnatal care, and GBV screening. At Al-Hasakah, SFPA is on the frontlines, directly supporting over 5,000 people, the majority of whom are women in urgent need of reproductive healthcare services. These women face an increased risk of complications due to the lack of access to safe and comprehensive health services, but SFPA is committed to meeting their needs. From providing postnatal care to offering family planning options and GBV screenings, SFPA is ensuring that women in these vulnerable circumstances are not forgotten. SFPA’s clinics, such as the one in southern Daraa and the besieged Al-Waer in Homs, have become lifelines, serving as a beacon of hope for those in need. They provide up to 70 beneficiaries a day with crucial services, including health counselling and early marriage awareness. SFPA has faced significant challenges, including the seizing of vehicles and temporary clinic closures in the suburbs of Homs. Yet SFPA's perseverance in delivering SRHR services remains an essential lifeline for the people of Syria. We will continue to stand alongside SFPA in their tireless efforts to safeguard sexual and reproductive health rights, ensuring that every woman, adolescent, and marginalized person has access to the care they deserve. Together, we stand for dignity, health, and choice, even in the face of uncertainty. The challenges are great, but the importance of maintaining SRHR services is immeasurable. Through unwavering dedication, we can support those in need and contribute to a future where everyone has access to the care and rights they deserve.   Contact: +44 7918 845944 Image credit: SFPA/Wasim Kashlan

Jerusalem, 9 July 2024: Nine months on since the start of the Israeli aggression in Gaza, maternal healthcare is almost decimated. Pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women in Gaza are facing serious health consequences. Miscarriages have risen at least 300% since October last year. One of our own health workers from the Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association (PFPPA) recently lost her pregnancy due to the stress of the attacks.   “I am a healthcare worker with PFPPA, and I have been forced to flee not once, not twice, but six times since the start of the violence, with my husband and three small children. Our home was destroyed by bombing. Whilst I was fleeing from one location to another, I started to unexpectedly bleed. I was able to find a doctor only after reaching Rafah, who confirmed I was miscarrying. I didn’t even realise I was pregnant,” Wafa, our healthcare worker in Gaza, told us.   With the starvation being faced by the people in Gaza in addition to the lack of drinking water, our service providers are reporting on daily basis of pregnant women suffering from anaemia, malnutrition and in desperate need of prenatal vitamins and supplements.   Our service providers in Gaza are also witnessing many women who are either having premature deliveries or miscarriages. Women of newborns are unable to breastfeed their babies due their own malnutrition and anxiety, while at the same time most families cannot afford milk formula as prices are becoming extremely high - and that is if they can find it in the market. When medical facilities are available, many women are unwilling to leave their shelters to obtain pre- and post-natal care, as they worry if they are separated from their families there will be military attacks and bombings and fear for their and their loved one's fate if they do so.   Ammal Awadallah, Executive Director of PFPPA, said:  “Nine months on, and a woman who conceived at the start of these hostilities will now be giving birth. But where, how, and what life is that baby entering? This will be a lost generation in Gaza, a generation born into genocide. We’re doing the best we can to offer support to women in Gaza, but the conditions to get aid into Gaza, let alone warehouse supplies, make our jobs extremely difficult. PFPPA has always been committed to women’s health and that doesn’t stop, now or ever.”   Over 37,900 people have now lost their lives in Gaza. Women and girls that survive are facing a myriad of challenges; deprived of sexual and reproductive health services, sanitary and hygiene products. We believe every single person and organisation needs to mobilise to end this, by calling on their governments to demand unhindered humanitarian aid access, to demand a permanent ceasefire, and divest from any organisations aiding and abetting Israel’s military campaign against Palestine.   We are working in close collaboration with colleagues in Palestine on how best to serve those caught up in the violence, to ensure health workers are safe and able to provide sexual and reproductive health care without threat to life.   For more information and to speak to our Executive Director in Palestine, please email [email protected]     About the Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association  Established in Jerusalem in 1964, the Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association (PFPPA) is locally registered as an independent, non-profit and non-governmental association with headquarters in Jerusalem. PFPPA has service delivery points located in the West Bank Areas of Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron and Halhoul, in addition to one in the Gaza Strip, which has yet to be relocated after it was destroyed following an Israeli airstrike on 8 October. Furthermore, and in cooperation with local partners, PFPPA is also responsible for three safe spaces to provide Gender Based Violence (GBV) related services in the Jerusalem area.  About the International Planned Parenthood Federation  IPPF is a global healthcare provider and a leading advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for all. Led by a courageous and determined group of women, IPPF was founded in 1952 at the Third International Planned Parenthood Conference. Today, we are a movement of 150 Member Associations and Collaborative Partners with a presence in over 146 countries.  Our work is wide-ranging, including comprehensive sex education, provision of contraceptive, safe abortion, and maternal care and responding to humanitarian crises. We pride ourselves on being local through our members and global through our network. At the heart of our mission is the provision of – and advocacy in support of – integrated healthcare to anyone who needs it regardless of race, gender, sex, income, and crucially no matter how remote.   

Haz click aquí para leer este posicionamiento en español. Khartoum, 2 July 2024: Another horrendous attack on one of our healthcare clinics in Sudan has occurred this week. Several staff and volunteers from our Member Association in Sudan, the Sudan Family Planning Association (SFPA), have now been injured or killed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Our clinic in El Fasher has been destroyed, meaning there is one less option for women and girls to receive lifesaving sexual and reproductive healthcare in the region.   For over a month, ongoing battles around El Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur, have been taking place.The RSF, who have stationed themselves 10 kilometres from the city, have been indiscriminately shelling military and civilian targets.   One of our SFPA volunteers, Mahasen Abdul Jabbar, was killed after being hit by gunshot at the clinic. This morning, Dr Daifallah Mohammed, a volunteer family medicine specialist in our El Fasher clinic, also died as a result of the warfare.  The RSF bombardments have also severely injured several of our staff: Dr Marwa, a doctor at the Integrated Centre in El Fasher, was hit by shrapnel in her leg. A midwife at Abu Shouk centre, Halima Abdullah Adam, was hit and four of her children were injured and evacuated. The house of the guard of Abu Shouk centre was hit, killing his daughter and wounding four of his other children.  One of our nurses has been hit with shrapnel and has been transferred to hospital and is in critical condition and all contact with her has been lost. The RSF has also been kidnapping our patients, their whereabouts unknown.   This latest attack is on top of previous attacks on our clinics in Sudan, which destroyed our facilities in Khartoum and El Fashir and health centres run by SFPA between 7-9 September 2023.  Women and girls in Sudan are facing an upsurge in sexual and conflict-related violence. Our staff have witnessed firsthand the impact of this heinous crime on the most vulnerable people, including women, girls and other marginalized groups. We previously reported that rape victims and survivors are struggling to obtain contraception, abortion medication and post-exposure anti-viral medications. They face severe and life-threatening consequences, including loss of family support and homes and shelters and increased risk of suicide. Survivors are afraid to seek medical treatment because of the stigma and fear of reprisals from rape.  Fadoua Bakhadda, Regional Director, Arab World Region, said:   “We unequivocally condemn all violence against civilians, especially against health centers that are attacked while providing essential services to those in need. Such acts are an affront to humanity and the sanctity of care.  The murders, displacement and destruction in Sudan must stop. It is vital that warring parties remember their obligations under International Humanitarian Law, which include ensuring the protection of civilians and the protection of health structures and health personnel.”  Dr Alvaro Bermejo, Director-General of IPPF, said:   “We are devastated to learn of another attack on one of our clinics in Sudan, and the injuries and loss of lives to our staff and volunteers. Healthcare facilities, and most importantly, healthcare workers, must never be the target of war. The sexual and reproductive health and lives of 800,000 people in North Darfur – including women, children, and people with disabilities – are hanging in the balance as bombing and shelling cause widespread harm to civilians and severely disrupt the essential health services they very much depend on.  Now, more than ever, our healthcare facilities must be protected so they can continue to provide care to the populations enduring these needless attacks. Our clinic, which previously was able to provide lifesaving sexual and reproductive healthcare such as prenatal care and contraceptives, is gone. Where will women and girls seek these services now? There must finally be a critical mass of people of conscience saying enough is enough in this forgotten crisis.”   For more information and to speak to one of our staff in North Darfur, Sudan, please email [email protected]   About the Sudan Family Planning Association  The Sudan Family Planning Association (SFPA) was established in 1965 by pioneers in obstetrics and gynaecology in response to increases in maternal, neonatal and infant mortality and morbidity. As the statistics show, Sudan is a country in great need of frontline sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. Advocacy, and undertaking information, education and communication (IEC) programs are critical. In 2023, SFPA provided 38 million services through 25 clinics, 272 associated clinics, 39 mobile clinics, 1494 CBD/CBS, and digital/Virtual channels. Since the start of the crisis on 15 April 2023, the association teams were successful in providing 8 million services through 25 SDPs and 10 million services through non damaged associated and mobile clinics. SFPA was able to assist 1,183 deliveries under bombardment and provided 170 943 treatments of HIV in its static clinics. About the International Planned Parenthood Federation The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is a global healthcare provider and a leading advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for all. We are a movement of 150 Member Associations and Collaborative Partners with a presence in over 146 countries. Building on a proud history of 70 years of achievement, we commit to lead a locally owned, globally connected civil society movement that provides and enables services and champions sexual and reproductive health and rights for all, especially the under-served. 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.    

Haz click aquí para leer este posicionamiento en español The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is deeply concerned about the escalating violence and political instability in Haiti, particularly its disproportionate impact on women and girls since March 2024. This crisis is expected to leave 3,000 pregnant women without essential medical care, leading to nearly 450 women experiencing life-threatening childbirth complications. With almost 580,000 Haitians displaced, women and girls are experiencing an alarming surge in sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), including rampant sexual assaults, torture, and collective rape by armed groups. From January to March 2024, there were 1,793 SGBV incidents reported. Conflict-related insecurity has also significantly increased negative coping mechanisms, contributing to the rise in SGBV, as well as sexually transmitted infections and HIV.  The ongoing violence is preventing access to essential sexual and reproductive healthcare services, endangering the lives of mothers and newborns. Our partner in Haiti, the Haiti Midwives Association, informed us, ‘the gangs prohibit the movement of motorcycles and pedestrians, threatening and sometimes shooting in the air to terrorise us further. Due to these difficult conditions, fewer and fewer patients are attending the hospital, whether for prenatal consultations, deliveries or postnatal care.” This inaccessibility has led to a significant increase in maternal and infant mortality.  Eugenia López Uribe, Regional Director of the IPPF Americas & the Caribbean, said, “Humanitarian aid must be granted access through local organisations, such as our partner the Haiti Midwives Association, and their wellbeing must be guaranteed in this process. Women and girls can no longer wait! Our partner has provided access to vital emergency services such as pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care, as well as care after sexual violence for 20 years. However, since February, they have been forced to stop their activities because of the imminent risks they face as women living in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas.” On this International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, IPPF calls for zero tolerance toward any form of SGBV and demands the immediate protection of Haitian women, children, and those most at risk. We strongly call for unhindered humanitarian access to allow aid into Haiti. This aid must be designed and controlled by local NGOs and aid workers, and any foreign peacekeepers must safeguard and protect local communities - in particular their sexual and reproductive rights - so mistakes of the past are not repeated.  Let’s not forget: Haiti's poverty and instability has been shaped by decades of foreign occupation and colonialism. The international community owes Haiti more than mere condolences; they owe an unwavering commitment to a future where human rights, including sexual and reproductive health rights are respected and protected, and nobody is left behind.