IPPF’s Director General has led the global Federation in paying tribute to the dedicated and pioneering work of the late Professor Fred Sai.
Professor Sai dedicated over fifty years to championing the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls, campaigning and advocating for access to contraception and safe and legal abortion.
He was the first African President of IPPF between 1989 to 1995 and the co-founder in 1967 of the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), an IPPF member association.
Professor Sai also chaired the main committees of both the 1984 International Conference on Population and Development in Mexico City and the landmark 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo.
As well as co-founding PPAG, his advocacy for access to contraception in Ghana led to the provision of subsidized family planning services by the Government in 2007 under the Free Maternal Health Policy.
In 2014, the Fred T. Sai Institute was established by the IPPF Africa Region in Professor Sai’s honour, as a pioneer public health institute, championing research on population and sexual and reproductive health across the Africa Region and generating evidence of effective health strategies through the funding of postgraduate research and the organisation of a biennial dissemination forum between academia, NGOs and Governments.
IPPF President Rana Abu Ghazaleh paid tribute to Professor Sai on behalf of IPPF’s Governing Council:
“It is very sad to hear of Fred Sai’s passing. He was a landmark in the SRHR world and his passing is a loss to IPPF and the world. I had the honor of sharing the opening session with him at the ICPD @ 10 conference in 2004 as an IPPF youth volunteer then and to meet him in person.”
IPPF’s Director General, Dr Alvaro Bermejo said:
“The world of sexual and reproductive health has lost a giant. We join the world in honouring Professor Fred Sai and paying tribute to a champion and pioneer who did so much to improve the rights of women and girls in Ghana, in Africa and around the globe.”
IPPF Africa Acting Region Director Dr Haingo Rabearimonjy said:
“We have lost hero of sexual and reproductive health and rights in Africa. Prof Sai was a genuine advocate of gender equality and women empowerment. His work has shaped how we delivery SRH services to youth and women today. He was a champion with an unparalleled gift of garnering support for SRHR from all corners of the globe. It is with deep sorrow that we unite the world to honour our dearly departed godfather of SRHR.”
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