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IPPF’s Director General Tewodros Melesse with Japan’s First Lady, Mrs Akie Abe
news item

| 21 September 2016

Japan’s First Lady and IPPF together for a world without discrimination

Japan’s First Lady, Her Excellency Mrs Akie Abe, and IPPF’s Director General Tewodros Melesse have agreed on the need to continue the fight to strengthen women’s health and rights, in a High Level Meeting in the margins of the UN General Assembly 2016 in New York. Japan is a strong supporter of IPPF’s work in the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights, and Mrs Abe has a personal commitment to improving the lives of women through her work with the World Assembly of Women (WAW), an initiative launched by her husband His Excellency Mr Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan, in 2014 to create a society where women shine. Mrs Abe has spoken before about the need to tackle discrimination against disenfranchised communities, and noted again in her meeting with Mr Melesse the discrimination faced by the LGBTQI community. Mr Melesse said: “Mrs Abe is a tireless supporter of the rights of women and communities which face discrimination, such as the LGBTQI community.  IPPF and Mrs Abe share the goal of empowering women and building a world without discrimination. I look forward very much to working more closely with Mrs Abe in the future.”

IPPF’s Director General Tewodros Melesse with Japan’s First Lady, Mrs Akie Abe
news_item

| 21 September 2016

Japan’s First Lady and IPPF together for a world without discrimination

Japan’s First Lady, Her Excellency Mrs Akie Abe, and IPPF’s Director General Tewodros Melesse have agreed on the need to continue the fight to strengthen women’s health and rights, in a High Level Meeting in the margins of the UN General Assembly 2016 in New York. Japan is a strong supporter of IPPF’s work in the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights, and Mrs Abe has a personal commitment to improving the lives of women through her work with the World Assembly of Women (WAW), an initiative launched by her husband His Excellency Mr Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan, in 2014 to create a society where women shine. Mrs Abe has spoken before about the need to tackle discrimination against disenfranchised communities, and noted again in her meeting with Mr Melesse the discrimination faced by the LGBTQI community. Mr Melesse said: “Mrs Abe is a tireless supporter of the rights of women and communities which face discrimination, such as the LGBTQI community.  IPPF and Mrs Abe share the goal of empowering women and building a world without discrimination. I look forward very much to working more closely with Mrs Abe in the future.”

Carmen Barroso receiving her Awards
news item

| 01 July 2016

Ex-IPPFWHR Regional Director wins UN Award

Carmen Barosso, previous Regional Director for IPFPWHR, has been recognised for her dedication to increase sexual and reproductive health care and to empower women to demand their rights. Winning the United Nations Population Award, Camen said that sexual and reproductive health is intextricable from human rights.  “Putting sexual and reproductive health and rights at the heart of population and development policies” was a turning point, Ms. Barroso said in her acceptance speech. It helped to “unleash a cultural sea change, a new language, and new ways of thinking.”  

Carmen Barroso receiving her Awards
news_item

| 01 July 2016

Ex-IPPFWHR Regional Director wins UN Award

Carmen Barosso, previous Regional Director for IPFPWHR, has been recognised for her dedication to increase sexual and reproductive health care and to empower women to demand their rights. Winning the United Nations Population Award, Camen said that sexual and reproductive health is intextricable from human rights.  “Putting sexual and reproductive health and rights at the heart of population and development policies” was a turning point, Ms. Barroso said in her acceptance speech. It helped to “unleash a cultural sea change, a new language, and new ways of thinking.”  

Syrian women
news item

| 24 May 2016

IPPF supports Call to Action for protection from Gender- Based violence in crisis

IPPF is supporting the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Emergencies, which aims to fundamentally transform the way GBV is addressed in humanitarian operations via the collective action of numerous partners, each bringing various strengths and capacities to the table. The commitments were presented during a High Level Panel at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul today. On the Call to Action, Tewodros Melesse, IPPF Director General said: ” We cannot allow gender based violence to go ignored. We are seeing the impact when people reach our humanitarian services. We call for others to follow our lead and deliver a prioritised approach that ensures there is a tailored service for those who affected by gender-based violence. This will ensure that those in crisis will get the support and protection they need so no one is left behind”. Women and girls are disproportionately influenced by humanitarian crises exposed to early marriage, trafficking, rape, forced pregnancies, unattended service delivery during complicated pregnancies and delivery. Women and girls are 14 times more likely to die in disaster settings than men. IPPF tailors its programmes to focus on GBV and women and girls. The Call to Action will strengthen a global standard and prioritization for GBV in crisis settings. IPPF has committed to a range of areas for GBV in crisis settings: IPPF Secretariat-wide standard to drive action and accountability on GBV and gender equality in humanitarian service delivery. Develop a tailored minimal sexuality education programme that is responsive to the needs of people living in crisis settings, recognizing the additional risks of early marriage, and sexual violence All IPPF local Member Associations implement GBV and/or gender equality interventions that are based on assessment and planning processes. IPPF targets to deploy its regional and local GBV experts within 72 hours of a major crisis  

Syrian women
news_item

| 24 May 2016

IPPF supports Call to Action for protection from Gender- Based violence in crisis

IPPF is supporting the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Emergencies, which aims to fundamentally transform the way GBV is addressed in humanitarian operations via the collective action of numerous partners, each bringing various strengths and capacities to the table. The commitments were presented during a High Level Panel at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul today. On the Call to Action, Tewodros Melesse, IPPF Director General said: ” We cannot allow gender based violence to go ignored. We are seeing the impact when people reach our humanitarian services. We call for others to follow our lead and deliver a prioritised approach that ensures there is a tailored service for those who affected by gender-based violence. This will ensure that those in crisis will get the support and protection they need so no one is left behind”. Women and girls are disproportionately influenced by humanitarian crises exposed to early marriage, trafficking, rape, forced pregnancies, unattended service delivery during complicated pregnancies and delivery. Women and girls are 14 times more likely to die in disaster settings than men. IPPF tailors its programmes to focus on GBV and women and girls. The Call to Action will strengthen a global standard and prioritization for GBV in crisis settings. IPPF has committed to a range of areas for GBV in crisis settings: IPPF Secretariat-wide standard to drive action and accountability on GBV and gender equality in humanitarian service delivery. Develop a tailored minimal sexuality education programme that is responsive to the needs of people living in crisis settings, recognizing the additional risks of early marriage, and sexual violence All IPPF local Member Associations implement GBV and/or gender equality interventions that are based on assessment and planning processes. IPPF targets to deploy its regional and local GBV experts within 72 hours of a major crisis  

Young woman in Rwanda
news item

| 18 April 2016

Progress on realising the SRHR promise to African youth at CPD49

Today at the 49th meeting of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development in New York, IPPF’s Director General, Tewodros Melesse spoke to a full room as part of a side-event panel addressing the topic of young people in Africa. The side-event was chaired by South Africa’s Ambassador Kingsley Mamabolo who deftly steered the discussion. The first panellist was UNFPA’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Dr Jullita Onabanjo. She spoke about the importance of the Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development for the region. The Declaration was agreed in October 2013 as part of a series of regional reviews feeding into the overall review of progress on the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). The Declaration, agreed by African Governments, sets out a series of commitments to action, including on sexual and reproductive health, comprehensive sexuality education, data collection and governance: http://icpdbeyond2014.org/pages/view/6-africa Dr Onabanjo called for African governments to share their national experience and learning arising from efforts to implement the Addis Declaration. She looked forward to a platform for this exchange which would also support monitoring of progress on the Declaration and accountability. She recommended a structured and continuous dialogue to take stock and relate monitoring of the Declaration to broader monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals. The second speaker, Zane Dangor, Special Advisor to the Minister of Social Development, South Africa, started by sharing shocking stories of young women who had suffered or died because they lacked access to safe abortion services. He also told us how Eudy Simelane, a female footballer from South Africa’s national team, was raped and murdered because she was openly lesbian. Zane explained that the Addis Ababa Declaration provides guidance on what states need to do to prevent suffering and deaths like these. South Africa has enacted hate crimes legislation to protect people like Eudy based on domestic legislation, and international agreements, including the Addis Declaration. South Africa has also established an inter-ministerial committee on Population and Development matters to monitor implementation of local, regional and international agreements. Additionally, South Africa has worked to identify gaps in health systems in relation to provision of sexual and reproductive health and rights services that are free from stigmatization and discrimination. Zane described how particular paragraphs in the Addis Declaration provided guidance to South Africa, citing sections about revision of discriminatory laws and policies; ensuring legal systems comply with international human rights regulations and laws; promulgation and enforcement of laws to prevent and punish hate crimes and to protect all people from discrimination and violence; and operationalisation of the right to the highest attainable standard of health. Pointing out that sexual and reproductive health and rights can never be divorced from the pursuit of gender equality and equity, and the full empowerment of women, Zane stressed that the Addis Declaration builds on existing provisions of the African Union to recognise and promote women’s human rights and that it commits governments across Africa to harmonise national legislation with all the relevant international instruments on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Zane concluded with a reminder that the Addis Declaration recognises that we must not choose between rights and development, and that the one cannot be achieved without the other. He supported references to the outcome documents of the regional review conferences – such as the Addis Declaration – in the final resolutions of the Commission for Population and Development, pointing out that words in this context are windows to our consciousness, so we need to embody the spirit of leaving no one behind and ending violence based on discriminatory laws and practices. The third speaker was Dr Simon Miti, Permanent Secretary from the Ministry of National Development Planning in Zambia. Dr Miti explained that a recently conducted demographic study in Zambia was a real eye-opener. It revealed that Zambia currently has the highest ever number of young people in its population: a clear ‘youth bulge’. This realisation led the government to think about how best to realise the demographic dividend through investing in young people’s health, education, rights and employment. Last year the Government of Zambia revised the national youth policy to improve participation of young people, including in the areas of adolescent sexual and reproductive health. The new National Ministry of National Development Planning was also created to help deliver integrated decision-making and implementation across different policy areas affecting young people. Tewodros Melesse, Director General of IPPF, took the floor with optimism, seeing the Addis Declaration as a sign of progress and emphasising that it requires governments to implement the ICPD Programme of Action at national and regional levels. He urged governments to ensure that teachers and the police, the judiciary, private sector and Ministry of Finance all understand the importance of protective legislation and implementation of the Addis Declaration. He called on donors to be partners for implementation, and on Parliamentarians and the media to hold governments to account. Mr Melesse described IPPF’s contribution as a locally owned, globally connected Federation, working for sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment in over 170 countries. IPPF provides millions of services to young people and delivers comprehensive sexuality education both in and out of school. IPPF believes in empowering young people, and alongside supporting six regional youth networks, IPPF’s governance structure requires that 20% of Board members, at both regional and global levels, are under 25 years old. Noting that about one in five of the young people in the world today live in Africa, Mr Melesse highlighted the potential of the demographic dividend, urging governments to invest in young people’s health, rights and education, including comprehensive sexuality education. He warned that countries with high youth unemployment and poverty could face social instability and urged governments to support youth leadership. Questions from the floor focussed on comprehensive sexuality education, youth leadership and the role of the media, including new media, in providing accurate, evidence-based information for young people about health and rights. The panel concurred on the importance of these issues. The event ended with agreement that the Addis Declaration contained important promises to the young people of Africa and that while progress was being made more needed to be done to turn words into actions on the ground, and to hold governments to account for implementation.

Young woman in Rwanda
news_item

| 12 April 2016

Progress on realising the SRHR promise to African youth at CPD49

Today at the 49th meeting of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development in New York, IPPF’s Director General, Tewodros Melesse spoke to a full room as part of a side-event panel addressing the topic of young people in Africa. The side-event was chaired by South Africa’s Ambassador Kingsley Mamabolo who deftly steered the discussion. The first panellist was UNFPA’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Dr Jullita Onabanjo. She spoke about the importance of the Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development for the region. The Declaration was agreed in October 2013 as part of a series of regional reviews feeding into the overall review of progress on the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). The Declaration, agreed by African Governments, sets out a series of commitments to action, including on sexual and reproductive health, comprehensive sexuality education, data collection and governance: http://icpdbeyond2014.org/pages/view/6-africa Dr Onabanjo called for African governments to share their national experience and learning arising from efforts to implement the Addis Declaration. She looked forward to a platform for this exchange which would also support monitoring of progress on the Declaration and accountability. She recommended a structured and continuous dialogue to take stock and relate monitoring of the Declaration to broader monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals. The second speaker, Zane Dangor, Special Advisor to the Minister of Social Development, South Africa, started by sharing shocking stories of young women who had suffered or died because they lacked access to safe abortion services. He also told us how Eudy Simelane, a female footballer from South Africa’s national team, was raped and murdered because she was openly lesbian. Zane explained that the Addis Ababa Declaration provides guidance on what states need to do to prevent suffering and deaths like these. South Africa has enacted hate crimes legislation to protect people like Eudy based on domestic legislation, and international agreements, including the Addis Declaration. South Africa has also established an inter-ministerial committee on Population and Development matters to monitor implementation of local, regional and international agreements. Additionally, South Africa has worked to identify gaps in health systems in relation to provision of sexual and reproductive health and rights services that are free from stigmatization and discrimination. Zane described how particular paragraphs in the Addis Declaration provided guidance to South Africa, citing sections about revision of discriminatory laws and policies; ensuring legal systems comply with international human rights regulations and laws; promulgation and enforcement of laws to prevent and punish hate crimes and to protect all people from discrimination and violence; and operationalisation of the right to the highest attainable standard of health. Pointing out that sexual and reproductive health and rights can never be divorced from the pursuit of gender equality and equity, and the full empowerment of women, Zane stressed that the Addis Declaration builds on existing provisions of the African Union to recognise and promote women’s human rights and that it commits governments across Africa to harmonise national legislation with all the relevant international instruments on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Zane concluded with a reminder that the Addis Declaration recognises that we must not choose between rights and development, and that the one cannot be achieved without the other. He supported references to the outcome documents of the regional review conferences – such as the Addis Declaration – in the final resolutions of the Commission for Population and Development, pointing out that words in this context are windows to our consciousness, so we need to embody the spirit of leaving no one behind and ending violence based on discriminatory laws and practices. The third speaker was Dr Simon Miti, Permanent Secretary from the Ministry of National Development Planning in Zambia. Dr Miti explained that a recently conducted demographic study in Zambia was a real eye-opener. It revealed that Zambia currently has the highest ever number of young people in its population: a clear ‘youth bulge’. This realisation led the government to think about how best to realise the demographic dividend through investing in young people’s health, education, rights and employment. Last year the Government of Zambia revised the national youth policy to improve participation of young people, including in the areas of adolescent sexual and reproductive health. The new National Ministry of National Development Planning was also created to help deliver integrated decision-making and implementation across different policy areas affecting young people. Tewodros Melesse, Director General of IPPF, took the floor with optimism, seeing the Addis Declaration as a sign of progress and emphasising that it requires governments to implement the ICPD Programme of Action at national and regional levels. He urged governments to ensure that teachers and the police, the judiciary, private sector and Ministry of Finance all understand the importance of protective legislation and implementation of the Addis Declaration. He called on donors to be partners for implementation, and on Parliamentarians and the media to hold governments to account. Mr Melesse described IPPF’s contribution as a locally owned, globally connected Federation, working for sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment in over 170 countries. IPPF provides millions of services to young people and delivers comprehensive sexuality education both in and out of school. IPPF believes in empowering young people, and alongside supporting six regional youth networks, IPPF’s governance structure requires that 20% of Board members, at both regional and global levels, are under 25 years old. Noting that about one in five of the young people in the world today live in Africa, Mr Melesse highlighted the potential of the demographic dividend, urging governments to invest in young people’s health, rights and education, including comprehensive sexuality education. He warned that countries with high youth unemployment and poverty could face social instability and urged governments to support youth leadership. Questions from the floor focussed on comprehensive sexuality education, youth leadership and the role of the media, including new media, in providing accurate, evidence-based information for young people about health and rights. The panel concurred on the importance of these issues. The event ended with agreement that the Addis Declaration contained important promises to the young people of Africa and that while progress was being made more needed to be done to turn words into actions on the ground, and to hold governments to account for implementation.

three girls huggin each other
news item

| 08 March 2016

IPPF welcomes new UN commentary on indivisible right to sexual and reproductive health

On International Women’s Day, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has welcomed a new commentary from UN experts which says that the right to sexual and reproductive health is indivisible from other human rights. “It is absolutely right for the Committee to address the issue of sexual and reproductive health specifically, today of all days,” said Tewodros Melesse, IPPF’s Director General. “Sadly millions of women are still denied their basic rights because they are poor, because they suffer discrimination or because they lack legal protection.”  The 18 independent members of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights said that the right to sexual and reproductive health was not only an integral part of the general right to health, but fundamentally linked to the enjoyment of many other human rights, including the rights to education, work and equality. They said that a lack of care for mothers in childbirth or a lack of access to safe abortion, often leading to maternal death, constitutes a violation of the right to life, and in certain circumstances can amount to torture. “No woman should die in childbirth in 2016 because of a lack of adequate care,” said Mr Melesse. “We know that access to safe abortion saves women’s lives, yet millions are denied that right.” IPPF is a network of sexual and reproductive health and rights organisations in 170 countries that are equipped to monitor and respond to any member of the public who wants information, services, contraception and access to abortion and are available to serve at the first point of response. For further information and interviews contact press office 02079398227 

three girls huggin each other
news_item

| 08 March 2016

IPPF welcomes new UN commentary on indivisible right to sexual and reproductive health

On International Women’s Day, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has welcomed a new commentary from UN experts which says that the right to sexual and reproductive health is indivisible from other human rights. “It is absolutely right for the Committee to address the issue of sexual and reproductive health specifically, today of all days,” said Tewodros Melesse, IPPF’s Director General. “Sadly millions of women are still denied their basic rights because they are poor, because they suffer discrimination or because they lack legal protection.”  The 18 independent members of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights said that the right to sexual and reproductive health was not only an integral part of the general right to health, but fundamentally linked to the enjoyment of many other human rights, including the rights to education, work and equality. They said that a lack of care for mothers in childbirth or a lack of access to safe abortion, often leading to maternal death, constitutes a violation of the right to life, and in certain circumstances can amount to torture. “No woman should die in childbirth in 2016 because of a lack of adequate care,” said Mr Melesse. “We know that access to safe abortion saves women’s lives, yet millions are denied that right.” IPPF is a network of sexual and reproductive health and rights organisations in 170 countries that are equipped to monitor and respond to any member of the public who wants information, services, contraception and access to abortion and are available to serve at the first point of response. For further information and interviews contact press office 02079398227 

mother and child during a medical visit
news item

| 19 February 2016

IPPF calls for G7 leaders to prioritize the full range of sexual and reproductive health care services in Universal Health Coverage

18 February, Tokyo:The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) calls for G7 leaders to prioritize the full range of sexual and reproductive health care services in plans for Universal Health Coverage in their forthcoming Ise Shima G7 Summit in May. IPPF made this call at this week’s G7 Health Experts’ Meeting in Tokyo.  IPPF said sexual and reproductive health care (SRH)services are essential because they save lives, are cost effective and offer universal benefits. IPPF highlighted that SRH services are critical to achieving women’s empowerment, equality and full participation in society. These services play a crucial part in the development of resilient health systems that can help reduce the impact of humanitarian disasters. Giselle Carino, IPPF Western Hemisphere Regional Director Designate, who attended at the meeting said: "Governments (public sector) cannot work alone to ensure that no-one is left behind. Locally-owned organizations, such as IPPF Member Associations, are working at the frontline supporting communities, particularly poor and underserved people including women and adolescents, to make a real and sustainable difference in their health status and realize human security. G7 leaders must recognize the role of civil society in health system strengthening and building a new global health architecture". IPPF also calls for: The principle of Universal Health Coverage: that everyone has the right to health without facing financial hardship and no social groups can be left behind. Essential sexual, reproductive, maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health services at the primary care level should be a priority of Universal Health Coverage because investment in these services is among the most cost-effective interventions that a health system can provide. The importance of the social and gender determinants of health should be recognized by mainstreaming gender equality into Universal Health Coverage and national health strategies. Making significant progress on both targets 3.7 and 3.8 would be transformative. Therefore IPPF urges the G7 to prioritize discussion of how these targets can be achieved during preparations for the Ise-Shima summit and in particular calls on the G7 to ensure that sexual and reproductive health services are prioritized in plans for Universal Health Coverage.  

mother and child during a medical visit
news_item

| 19 February 2016

IPPF calls for G7 leaders to prioritize the full range of sexual and reproductive health care services in Universal Health Coverage

18 February, Tokyo:The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) calls for G7 leaders to prioritize the full range of sexual and reproductive health care services in plans for Universal Health Coverage in their forthcoming Ise Shima G7 Summit in May. IPPF made this call at this week’s G7 Health Experts’ Meeting in Tokyo.  IPPF said sexual and reproductive health care (SRH)services are essential because they save lives, are cost effective and offer universal benefits. IPPF highlighted that SRH services are critical to achieving women’s empowerment, equality and full participation in society. These services play a crucial part in the development of resilient health systems that can help reduce the impact of humanitarian disasters. Giselle Carino, IPPF Western Hemisphere Regional Director Designate, who attended at the meeting said: "Governments (public sector) cannot work alone to ensure that no-one is left behind. Locally-owned organizations, such as IPPF Member Associations, are working at the frontline supporting communities, particularly poor and underserved people including women and adolescents, to make a real and sustainable difference in their health status and realize human security. G7 leaders must recognize the role of civil society in health system strengthening and building a new global health architecture". IPPF also calls for: The principle of Universal Health Coverage: that everyone has the right to health without facing financial hardship and no social groups can be left behind. Essential sexual, reproductive, maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health services at the primary care level should be a priority of Universal Health Coverage because investment in these services is among the most cost-effective interventions that a health system can provide. The importance of the social and gender determinants of health should be recognized by mainstreaming gender equality into Universal Health Coverage and national health strategies. Making significant progress on both targets 3.7 and 3.8 would be transformative. Therefore IPPF urges the G7 to prioritize discussion of how these targets can be achieved during preparations for the Ise-Shima summit and in particular calls on the G7 to ensure that sexual and reproductive health services are prioritized in plans for Universal Health Coverage.