On 24 January 2025, President Trump signed an executive order reinstating the Global Gag Rule (GGR).   The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) - a federation of members and partners in 153 countries - fights for the right of every individual to decide about their own health, well-being and life. IPPF will never support policies which actively restrict or violate an individual’s right to bodily autonomy, including the right to safe abortion. The GGR - also known as the Mexico City Policy - violates human rights by forcing women to continue with an unwanted pregnancy or into unsafe abortion, and IPPF will not tolerate it. The GGR is a far-reaching, destructive American foreign policy, one that is deeply unpopular with the American people. It denies U.S. funding to organisations like IPPF if they use money from other donors to provide safe abortion services, counselling or referrals. It blocks critical funding for health services like contraception, maternal health, abortion care, and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment for organisations that refuse to sign it. When it has been enacted by previous Republican Presidents, evidence has shown that the GGR has led to an increase in maternal deaths, in unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortions. It blocks access to health care for women and the most vulnerable people, silences SRHR advocates, reduces coverage of community health workers, and infringes on a country’s sovereignty. The Global Gag Rule’s reinstatement will result in an escalation in avoidable health crises, needless physical and emotional harm, a loss of dignity for women, and death. IPPF anticipates it will lose $61 million USD for programs that provide sexual and reproductive health services for millions of women and youth. 13 countries and 16 healthcare projects worldwide are affected by the Global Gag Rule. Without funding, the people we serve will otherwise go without these vital services, including women suffering the burden of health and humanitarian crises.  Donald Makwakwa, Executive Director, Family Planning Association of Malawi (FPAM): "The reinstatement of the global gag rule will have devastating consequences for women and girls in Malawi, where access to sexual and reproductive health services is already limited. Projected funding cuts to FPAM will disproportionately harm women and young girls in Malawi, many of whom rely on these services to avoid unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and maternal deaths. It is a cruel policy that sacrifices lives and bodily autonomy." The global gag is further insult to injury on top of other U.S. foreign policies that have a catastrophic impact on the communities in which our MAs work. Just yesterday, the State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance sent a global cable that ordered an immediate pause on new foreign aid spending, as well as a stop-work order for existing grants and contracts. The new executive action targeting transgender, non-binary and intersex individuals has resulted in great fear for our communities. We have already seen funding cut as a result of its new anti-DEI executive action. The US also announced it plans to renew its membership of the Geneva Consensus Declaration, an anti-abortion joint statement initially cosponsored by persons claiming to represent the governments of Brazil, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Uganda, and the United States. It was signed by persons from 34 countries on October 22, 2020.   It is clear foreign aid has become a political weapon, used to enforce hateful ideologies at the expense of women in all their diversity, and against LGBTQI+, poor and immigrant communities.    We cannot—and will not—deny life-saving services to the people we serve.  We urge other governments and donors to step forward and call out the damage and destruction of these destructive actions. We stand in solidarity with our community.  Now is the time for our movement to unite, to come together and to fight for a world of sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice for ALL. Learn more about Global Gag Rule here: The Global Gag Rule | IPPF  For more information, please contact [email protected] or +44 7918 845 944. 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 158 Member Associations and Collaborative Partners with a presence in over 153 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. 

It is with deep despair and outrage that we announced yesterday the killing of Dr Thabat Salim. Dr Salim was a 30 year old woman who had only recently begun her career with the Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association (PFPPA), a Member Association of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), but who had become a much loved and respected member of our team. Her death is more than a tragedy; it is a devastating indictment of the conditions under which women health care providers live and work. She was Palestinian. She was living in Gaza. She was a woman of reproductive age. She was a doctor. She worked in a hospital. She cared for Palestine’s next generation; newborn babies. These factors should have made her a symbol of hope and healing. Instead, they culminated in her murder. No woman should be afraid to go to work. Yet, this is the daily reality for many of our healthcare workers — most of them women — in Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria, Yemen and beyond. Since October 8, 2023, when our health site in Gaza was destroyed, and our staff forced to flee, we have spoken out. We have joined others in echoing #HealthcareWorkersAreNotATarget. But we must also confront a truth that is far more uncomfortable for me to say, and you to read: The Israeli Government is not acting alone in its targeting and killing of women and healthcare workers. The US government - of which we are a recipient of their aid - supplied more than $18 billion in military aid last year. Under the current Administration, they pledged $8 billion more. These funds, meant for military support, translate into more murdered doctors, and many more murdered women and children. They translate to more men killed, injured or incarcerated, and more families shattered. I can of course speak to other Western powers, but as I write this, the U.S. remains one of the biggest suppliers of weapons used in this genocide. Perversely, they are also the biggest funder of global health, including reproductive health programs - programs that will increasingly be designed to “mop up” what remains of our colleagues, patients, clinics and communities.  Civilians – and particularly health workers – are being denied their rightful legal protections. For reasons too improbable to untangle here, the United States, and others continuing to supply weapons to the Israeli army, are colluding in the massacre of civilians, colluding in the massacre of Palestinian women of reproductive age, colluding in the massacre of health workers. And in this last act of violence, destroying our humanity.   We are urging an end to this violence. An end to the supply of weapons that kill our colleagues and patients. An end to impunity on sexual violence. An end to this genocide. If you stand for women. For peace. For the right to sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice, then stand with us. Stand for Dr Thabat Salim. Stand for the 17 year old who was killed in our Sudanese Family Planning Association clinic in Darfur last week because he dared buy condoms. Stand for our colleagues in Palestine, in Lebanon, in Syria, Sudan and Yemen who have been killed and injured in this last year. Stand for our surviving colleagues on the frontlines of sexual and reproductive healthcare who no longer have a place to go to work, or a place to call home, because in this era of an undeclared war on women’s bodies, on young people’s bodies, a few powerful men felt emboldened enough to consider them collateral damage.   It is time to come together, to stand for sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice for ALL. You can stand for IPPF by donating here. All donations will go to where our healthcare workers are providing front line services under conflict.

El Fasher, Sudan: The Abu Shouk Centre, affiliated with the North Darfur State Branch of the Sudan Family Planning Association (SFPA) was directly targeted by the Rapid Support Forces militia on the morning of 28 December 2024. The centre was providing humanitarian services at the time of the attack. This tragic incident resulted in the death of a 17-year-old client and injuries to three others, with varying degrees of severity. The centre’s buildings sustained partial destruction, significantly reducing its ability to deliver essential healthcare and humanitarian services to the local community. This latest attack adds to a series of devastating assaults on our clinics in Sudan. In September 2023, facilities in Khartoum and El Fasher, along with several health centres run by SFPA, were destroyed. On 2 July 2024, another horrendous attack targeted one of our healthcare clinics in Khartoum, further compromising our ability to deliver life-saving services to those in need. The humanitarian crisis in Sudan has reached catastrophic level and is now the world’s largest humanitarian emergency. After nearly 20 months of war, over 12 million people have been displaced from their homes. The country’s healthcare system has collapsed, with an estimated 70–80% of hospitals in conflict-affected areas no longer functioning. Women and girls are experiencing a sharp increase in sexual and conflict-related violence and our staff have witnessed the devastating impact of these crimes on women, girls, and other marginalised groups. SFPA is actively supporting its North Darfur State branch in responding to this urgent situation. We remain committed to the safety and security of our staff and beneficiaries and to continuing the provision of vital family planning and healthcare services to communities in this critically insecure region. Fadoua Bakhadda, Arab World Regional Director for IPPF said, "IPPF AWRO condemns the attack on the Abu Shouk Centre as a heartbreaking reminder of the escalating violence against healthcare providers in Sudan. This assault targets the basic rights of women, girls, and communities relying on life-saving services. We stand in solidarity with SFPA and call on all parties to respect the neutrality of healthcare facilities and prioritize civilian safety and dignity."   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.

Statement by our Director-General, Dr Alvaro Bermejo, on the Trump re-election We woke up to the disturbing news yesterday that Donald Trump is heading back to the White House. As ever, this has come as a huge shock, so firstly, let me express my condolences to all in the United States – and in countries where the U.S. contributes aid - whose reproductive destiny will be forever altered. This is not the news we wanted, nor the result that our Member Association in the United States, PPFA, worked so hard to achieve.   We anticipate Donald Trump will sign an executive order almost immediately after inauguration January 20, 2025, to reimpose an expanded Global Gag Rule. As in the past, IPPF will refuse the conditions of the Global Gag Rule. We stand in solidarity with all our Member Associations impacted.   Our world has changed, and so we must also acknowledge our MA’s who have been impacted by the horrific attacks on Gaza, on Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere. Over the past year, our teams in Palestine and Lebanon have had their health sites destroyed, and their staff displaced. We will continue to demand sexual and reproductive rights for ALL, no matter where. We will continue to make the links to sexual and reproductive violence where we see it and call out governments who enable it. Our feminist humanitarian response, our new strategy and our commitment to international human rights law makes this a moral imperative.   In all this tragedy, comes a glimmer of hope. An opportunity for our movements to reconfigure, to reclaim our space, and bring progressive struggles together.    We will resist. This is an invitation to Come Together, to work in solidarity, and to commit to building a liberated future.    On we must fight. We must organise, it must begin, and it begins now.

NEWS ALERT: In an emergency meeting held this weekend, the ILGA World Board unanimously decided to remove a bid from The Aguda, a member organisation based in Israel who proposed to host their next World Conference in Tel Aviv. This means the bid will not go forward, nor put to a vote at the upcoming World Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. At its meeting, the ILGA World Board also decided to suspend the organisation from their membership, as their current actions could violate the ILGA World Constitution.  In recognition of the historical experience with apartheid and colonialism in South Africa and their unequivocal solidarity for the Palestinian people, ILGA World apologised for the anger and harm this bid caused at a time whilst a plausible genocide is taking place. Through Kalavai, a truly intersectional, cross movement partnership, ILGA World is a critical partner of the International Planned Parenthood Federation. We recognise that our future requires solidarity and moral courage. With the defunding of grass roots organisations, and mounting pressure on organisations to turn the other way, to collude in silence; IPPF acknowledges the leadership of ILGA World – and many others, including most recently members of the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy. We stand in solidarity. We stand against reproductive and sexual violence. We stand against genocide and the deliberate destruction of international humanitarian law. We call on sister organisations to keep speaking, to tell the truth, to ensure our movement stands the test of time. We stand in solidarity with girls and women in all their diversity, with LGBTQ people, with our sisters in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, the DRC, Sudan, Myanmar and elsewhere. We demand sexual and reproductive rights for ALL.

The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has launched the CAD48 million "EmpowHER" project in partnership with Global Affairs Canada. The initiative aims to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for marginalised women, girls, and underserved communities across at least 11 countries. EmpowHER will enhance access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care, deliver comprehensive sexuality education, and combat growing threats to SRHR through policy reform and advocacy. This partnership aligns with Canada’s commitment to gender equality and empowering young people to make informed choices about their well-being. Ensuring Inclusive SRHR Delivery for Women, Girls and Marginalise Communities (EmpowHER), is a large-scale initiative that will strengthen access to SRHR for the most marginalised and underserved groups, particularly women and girls. It will support millions of women, girls, and vulnerable communities in Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mauritania, Sudan, Zambia, Uganda, Togo, Colombia, Ecuador and Pakistan. Through an intersectional, human rights-based feminist approach, EmpowHER will increase access to much needed rights-based SRH care, including access to person-centred safe and legal abortion care. It will deliver critical comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) to empower young people to act on their sexual and reproductive rights (SRR) by expanding their access to quality, rights-based, and gender-sensitive CSE. Furthermore, this initiative will also counteract the growing threats to women’s and girls' sexual and reproductive health rights, by providing urgent support to improve policies and strengthen the capacity of movements and coalitions. Dr. Alvaro Bermejo, Director-General of IPPF, emphasised the critical need to protect and expand access to SRHR. “This new project will continue our mission of empowering women and girls, particularly in Sub Saharan Africa, to make informed decisions about their bodies. We will not only increase access to much needed SRHR services including safe and legal abortion but will also deliver CSE to young people and tackle the rollback of SRHR rights.” “We’re grateful to the Canadian Government for their support and continued partnership.” The funding, unveiled during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), is part of Canada’s 10-Year Commitment to Global Health and Rights and aligns with its Feminist International Assistance Policy. Canada is committed to securing a more gender-equal world in which young people are empowered to exercise their rights and make free and informed decisions about their sexuality and well-being. "By supporting the EmpowHER initiative, Canada is taking another step towards achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls, in all their diversity, worldwide. This project will not only improve access to vital sexual and reproductive health services, but also ensure that the most marginalized communities can exercise their rights and make informed choices about their health and future. Together, we will strengthen partnerships that champion these rights and protect the progress we've made", said the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development, Canada.