IPPF has now compiled data outlining how the reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule will affect people’s health around the world. Our global network of local partners delivers more than 300 services every minute of every day. During President Trump’s term, we will forego approximately USD$100m funding from the US government, which would have supported our family planning and HIV programmes for women with the greatest need for these health care services. The regions most affected are sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean.  In practical terms, this level of funding could have prevented: 20,000 maternal deaths 4.8 million unintended pregnancies  1.7 million unsafe abortions  It could have also provided: treatment to 275,000 pregnant women living with HIV to protect their health and help prevent transmission of HIV to their infants  70 million condoms to prevent unintended pregnancies, HIV and other STIs 725,000 HIV tests to enable people to know their HIV status The foregone funding could have also treated 525,000 sexually transmitted infections. As an organisation that seeks to protect and improve the lives of women, men and children around the world, IPPF and its partners in 171 countries will not sign a policy that denies human rights and puts the lives of women at risk. We are working with governments and others to bridge this new funding gap and help keep our clinics open.  Sign up now to get updates on how you can be involved and make a difference. JOIN OUR THUNDERCLAP TO SPREAD THE MESSAGE SUPPORT OUR WORK WITH A DONATION

IPPF stands to lose $100 million USD received from the US, even though none of that money is used for abortion services. IPPF spoke out against Trump's reinstatement of the harmful Global Gag Rule (aka Mexico City Policy) to both BBC's Woman's Hour radio show and Australia's ABC 24 News. Our Member Associations have also spoken out against this violation of rights that service restrictions will lead to: "Funding cuts would mean we can't support 37 districts including supporting Government of Nepal effort on sexual and reproductive Health and rights. Additionally we would not be able to run community clinics or mobile health days or train health care workers. The impact also means we would lose essential medical staff like nurses, doctors and health experts. It would be devastating. " - Ms. Amu Singh Sijapati, President of Family Planning Association of Nepal As one of the biggest family planning organizations in the world, we work in over 170 countries to deliver integrated sexual and reproductive health services to the most marginalized women and communities around the globe. Funding cuts will limit the range of services and restricts how well they can be accessed in remote and rural areas by those who can’t afford transport, food or housing, and will now have to pay for services from other providers who charge more for treatment. "Our projects make a real difference. Young people living with HIV face stigma and violence which is a big problem for girls here in Kenya. These issues create barriers for getting care which means higher risks of ill health and harm. It’s vital that we work within local communities and offer services that recognise these specific needs. Without further funding FHOK may be unable to continue this support, scale up or replicate in other parts of Kenya. It would mean denying services to those who need them the most." - Edward Marienga, Executive Director -Family Health Options of Kenya Putting a ‘gag order’ on local providers who know the specific laws and needs of their communities flies in the face of common sense and reason,” said Marta Royo, Executive Director of Profamilia Colombia, an IPPF Member Association. "The impact of the rule under other U.S. Administrations has been dramatic—many organizations were forced to slash services or even shut their doors because they lost US funding for even mentioning abortion. As a result, women lost access to maternal health care, treatment for HIV and contraception that would help them prevent unintended pregnancies in the first place. Unsafe abortion is one of the leading causes of maternal death in the world and evidence has shown that denying women’s access to abortion doesn’t reduce the incidence of abortion; it just makes it unsafe.” WANT TO GET INVOLVED? SUBSCRIBE NOW TO GET UPDATES FROM IPPF SUPPORT OUR WORK WITH A DONATION View my Flipboard Magazine.

On 23 January 2017 President Trump signed an executive order reinstating the Global Gag Rule, or the Mexico City Policy.  The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) believes in the right of every individual to decide about their own health and well-being.  As an organisation that seeks to protect and improve the lives of women, men and children around the world, IPPF and its partners in 170 countries will not sign a policy that denies human rights and puts the lives of women at risk.   The Global Gag Rule denies U.S. funding to organisations like IPPF if they use money from other donors to provide abortion services, counselling or referrals—even if abortion is legal in a country. It blocks critical funding for health services like contraception, maternal health, and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment for any organisation that refuses to sign it. When it has been enacted by previous Republican Presidents, evidence has shown that the Global Gag Rule has not reduced the number of abortions; rather, by eliminating access to contraception, it has led to more unintended pregnancies and more unsafe abortions.     IPPF is the largest non-governmental provider of contraception in the world. It has worked with the U.S. government for decades. Our global network of local partners delivers more than 300 services every minute of every day, including 70 million contraceptive services every year.  The Global Gag Rule’s reinstatement will result in additional unintended pregnancies and countless other needless injuries and deaths. It means IPPF will lose $100 million USD for proven programs that provide comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services for millions of women and youth who otherwise go without these vital services, including women suffering the burden of health and humanitarian crises.  Over the years USAID has been a huge supporter of family planning – with a budget of over $600 million per year. Reinstatement will mean that years of progress to increase access to essential services globally, will be lost. We cannot—and will not—deny life-saving services to the world’s poorest women.  We will work with governments and donors to bridge the funding and service gaps the Global Gag Rule creates. We will ensure that women can exercise their rights and access safe abortion and family planning.  WANT TO GET INVOLVED? SUPPORT OUR WORK WITH A DONATION     Subscribe to our updates!

IPPF is proud to have supported Women’s Marches taking place across the world on Saturday 21st January 2017 in the wake of U.S. President Trump’s inauguration. It was a heartening display of the strength and scale of the global Women’s Rights movement and served to unite a wide range of individuals and groups under the banner of gender equality, amongst other progressive agendas.  IPPF co-sponsored the Women’s March on London, which was estimated to have over 100,000 participants, in order to ensure that sexual and reproductive health and rights were seen as central to the Women’s rights agenda. Amazing! People chanting "women's rights are human rights" & "my body, my right!" at #womensmarchlondon. So inspiring! @womensmarchlon pic.twitter.com/1dJ7JIyKWw— IPPF Global (@ippf) January 21, 2017 On attending the March, IPPF Director General Tewodros Melesse stated: ‘We are committed to ensuring the rights of women are respected and represented around the globe. These cannot be partial rights; they must include the right to decide when and if to have a child, and in the instance of unwanted pregnancy, the right to access safe abortion’. We're thousands at #womensmarchlondon, millions all over the world, marching for #GenderEquality. A global movement for human rights. pic.twitter.com/pbo8107DNJ— IPPF Global (@ippf) January 21, 2017 IPPF will build on this moment of global solidarity and galvanise support for increased and sustained commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights from governments everywhere.   If you are interested in joining the global movement for sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender equality, read more about our global campaigning and join our activist network. And you can also donate below.

My Name is Dr Lama Mouakea. I am the Executive Director for the Syrian Family Planning Association. We are now in the fifth year since the start of unrest in Syria, the situation continues to worsen. With half million people being killed and more than ten million having fled their homes, the conflict has now escalated, violently affecting the people in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. We still are in Aleppo. The situation is difficult. We are struggling to survive. People are coming here because they are not safe. Thousands have left East Aleppo in fear. It is cold. People walk long distances. There is so much crowding and for my staff the hours are very long. There are too many people. Everywhere is crowded and this limits where we can find spaces to provide our services. The security situation in the city means that we are trying to deliver services and see as many people as we can. We know that who we treat today we may not see again. We are providing the highest number of services from mobile clinics, to contraceptive supplies, to essential medicines including vitamins. We have medical teams and volunteers providing sexual and reproductive health services, psychosocial and paediatric through a range of mobile clinics and mobile teams so we can reach people. The risks for women and girls from sexual violence is high. We have seen many cases in our psychosocial support of violence that this kind of displacement exposes them to. We provide tailored support to the survivors of sexual violence, which has increased enormously during the war. There isn't enough services for the people. The demand is high and we need more assistance. With such high numbers and suffering, our internally displaced need urgent help. My staff are also suffering. We cannot keep up and want to survive. We won't leave because our place is here to help our people. I can only hope that the world can hear me. Please consider the Syrian people and what we are going through. We need money to give hope to people and help them survive and save lives. Support IPPF's work in Aleppo   DR LAMA MOUAKEA | Executive Director, the Syrian Family Planning Association Mrs. Lama Mouakea has been the Executive Director of the Syrian Family Planning Association (SFPA) for the last 19 years and has a long history of working with sexual and reproductive health services. Currently she is responsible for supervision of 114 staff and coordination of 600 volunteers. Under her leadership the SFPA has played a major role in responding to the emergency situation in Syria, providing sexual and reproductive health services to people who are internally displaced due to the on-going conflict, with a focus on mother and child care and nutrition, psychosocial support, first aid and training of health personnel in the provision of clinical management for rape survivors and coverage of the minimum initial service package among a lot of other things.

“Open Umbrella with Raindrops” emoji revealed as the people’s choice following a global poll* in response to Unicode’s refusal to create an official Condom Emoji. To mark World AIDS Day Durex calls for people to use and share the “Umbrella with Raindrops” emoji to help raise awareness of the risks associated with unprotected sex More than 75% of 16-35 year olds surveyed1 use emojis to discuss sex, with 9 out of 10 claiming that a safe sex emoji would help them to talk more openly about safe sex Almost 50% of 16-35 year olds think that HIV is not something that could ever affect them** despite the fact that every 30 seconds a young person is infected with the virus*** As part of Durex’s ongoing #CondomEmoji campaign, the World’s leading sexual wellbeing brand has today announced “Umbrella with Raindrops” as the overwhelmingly preferred choice in a global poll* to name the unofficial safe sex emoji.   To mark World AIDS Day on December 1st, Durex is calling for people across the globe to use and share the emoji in order to raise awareness of the risks associated with unprotected sex and to demonstrate to Unicode the need for an official #CondomEmoji to be approved and appear on every smartphone. The campaign was launched following the shocking revelation that almost half of 16-35 year olds surveyed felt that HIV is not something that could ever affect them despite the reality that every 30 seconds a young person is infected with HIV***. More than 60% of young people surveyed* admitted to being uncomfortable discussing safe sex, with 72% of respondants admitting they found it easier to express emotions using emojis and more than three quarters admitted that they used emojis to discuss sex and relationships. When questioned 9 out of 10 agreed that an official #CondomEmoji would be something that would help them to talk more openly about safe sex. Durex Global Category Director, Volker Sydow, said: “At Durex we believe that for this World AIDS Day identifying the unofficial safe sex emoji is an important step that helps to empower young people to put safe sex back on the agenda, supporting the fight to reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS. We are asking people to show their support for the cause by using this unofficial safe sex emoji and sharing the hashtag #CondomEmoji.” The campaign has also received the support of the International Planned Parenthood Association (IPPF), with Director General Tewodros Melesse adding: “Safe sex awareness continues to be an important global challenge. We support Durex’s campaign in helping make young people think about protection. On World AIDS Day we will be backing this effort to help raise awarness of the risks associated with unprotected sex.” Durex have created an online video as part of the campaign:   Sources: * 3GEM research questioning 3500 people from UK, USA, Brazil, China, India and South Africa commissioned by Durex – UK, October 2016 ** Someone Like Me, VIMN & Brand Solutions Insight with Tapestry Research, 2014 *** UNAIDS. Global Report 2010, Core Slides, Slide 11 About Durex Durex® is the #1 sexual wellbeing brand worldwide, producing a wide range of products, including high quality condoms, intimate lubricants and personal massagers. With over 80 years of experience in the bedroom, Durex is dedicated to inspiring lovers to love sex safely. That is why Durex will never stop innovating with new products that enhance the sexual experience, helping couples get closer and go further together. For more information, go to www.Durex.com. About RB* RB* is the world’s leading consumer health and hygiene company. The company has operations in over 60 countries, with headquarters in London, Dubai and Amsterdam, and sales in most countries across the globe. The company employs approximately c. 37,000 people worldwide. Inspired by a purpose to deliver innovative solutions for healthier lives and happier homes, RB is in the top 20 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. We are the global No 1or No 2 in the majority of our fast-growing categories, driven by an exceptional focus on innovation. Our health, hygiene and home portfolio is led by our global Powerbrands including Nurofen, Strepsils Gaviscon, Mucinex, Durex, Scholl, Clearasil, Lysol, Dettol, Veet, Harpic, Cillit Bang, Mortein, Finish, Vanish, Calgon, Air Wick, Woolite and French’s. Our Powerbrands represent 80% of net revenue. RB is redefining the world of consumer health and hygiene. Our people and unique culture are at the heart of our success. We have a drive for achievement and a passion to outperform wherever we focus, including sustainability where we are targeting a 1/3 reduction in water impact, 1/3 reduction in carbon and 1/3 of net revenue from more sustainable products. We are proud to be Save the Children’s largest global partner, with a new vision to radically reduce one the world’s largest killer of under 5s, diarrhoea. For more information visit www.rb.com. *RB is the trading name of Reckitt Benckiser group of companies