Australia’s new International Development Policy was launched this week with a focus on building a peaceful, stable and prosperous region. Announced as the first long term development strategy in almost a decade, it was welcomed by those in the development sector. In contrast to the former government, Australia’s Foreign Minister has committed to rebuilding their ODA budget. While this is likely to be a slow build, with no ODA/GNI targets set, the new policy sets out a clear pathway.   IPPF welcomes the policy’s approach to localisation, the strong focus on climate resilience and humanitarian action, the commitment to gender equality and LBGTQI+ rights and the ongoing support for sexual and reproductive health and rights.   The new policy has a strong focus on Australia’s role as a development partner in the region. While the geographic focus remains unchanged, the approach is quite different. At the launch, Minister Wong highlighted the importance of sovereignty, where ‘each country can determine its own fate’.  In practice for DFAT, this will mean greater accountability at post, more collaborative development of country Development Partnership Plans, more frequent progress reviews and a greater emphasis on implementing learning from evaluation. It also translates to greater investment in local solutions, including funding to support partner governments, local procurement, and civil society. The announcement of a new Civil Society Partnership Fund was well received, although details are lacking.   The other underlying theme which differs dramatically from previous aid policies is climate change, recognised by the Minister as the greatest shared challenge for the region. DFAT plans to increase climate investments and better address climate risk with a target that half of bilateral and regional investments must have a climate objective by 2024-25, increasing to 80% by 2028-29. The policy also references a new humanitarian strategy, which will complement the aid policy and is due to begin consultation in September.   Inclusion is a high priority within the policy. Minister Wong highlighted the importance of a region where ‘all can thrive and reach their potential’. Three focus areas for inclusion are Gender Equality, Disability Inclusion and LGBTQI+ rights, with supporting strategies in development, due for completion by the May budget 2024. The government is reinstating the target for 80% of development investments to address gender equality and a new requirement for investment over $3m to include gender equality objectives.  While health is not a focus area within the policy, it was mentioned as part of infrastructure programming. The policy notes the vulnerability of many health systems in the region and Australia’s continued role to strengthen capacity and support prevention and response for both infectious and non- communicable diseases. There is also a commitment to expand universal health coverage and a specific mention of support for sexual and reproductive health and rights.   Resourcing for international development is explored in detail. Responding to the findings of the Development Finance Review and recognising the limitations of ODA funding, the policy proposes an increase in blended finance, and an investment of up to A$250m to leverage private investment.  This will be supported by a new unit in DFAT to work with philanthropy and impact investment. The policy also highlights changes to reporting and accountability within DFAT, greater transparency of results, and increased investment in DFAT development capability (36.8m announced in the May budget).   Since the integration of AusAID into DFAT in 2013, international development has been a low priority in Australia, undervalued and diminished through multiple budget cuts. The Albanese government has promised something different. While the lack of an ODA funding target is disappointing, this policy is a step in the right direction.  The recognition of shared challenges and shift towards genuine engagement highlight an understanding of the value of development work, not just for beneficiaries but for the region as a whole. Together with DFAT’s investment in development capability and shift to a whole of government approach and Minister Wong’s outspoken commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development there are strong indications that Australia is taking development seriously.   As recipients and partners of the Australian International Development program, IPPF look forward to supporting the roll out of the new Australian International Development Policy, consulting on the strategies and participating in the design of new programs. We hope to see the collaboration continue and the funding match the ambition.   IPPF works closely with the Australian government and is funded through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to integrate sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) into humanitarian preparedness response and recovery through SPRINT; to restore services, particularly to marginalized populations impacted by COVID-19 through RESPOND and to support the ambitious Pacific Niu Vaka Strategy Phase 2, enabling quality SRHR to be realised for everyone in the Pacific.  To read the full policy, click here.  Cover illustration by Edinah Chewe for The Greats.

The Director General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Dr Alvaro Bermejo, is in Australia this week for high level meetings with Australian Government Ministers and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). He is joined by Ms Tomoka Fukuda, Regional Director of IPPF’s East and Southeast Asia and Oceania Region (ESEAOR) and Ms Phoebe Ryan, IPPF’s Chief of the Australia and New Zealand Office. In Australia, Dr Bermejo has been privileged to meet with Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, the Hon Pat Conroy. Together, they discussed how Australia can play a leadership role in advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights through Australia’s international development cooperation.

In a landmark verdict today, the High Court of Malindi has ruled that safe abortion care is a fundamental right under the Constitution of Kenya and that arbitrary arrests and prosecution of patients and healthcare providers, for seeking or offering such services, is completely illegal. Specifically, the Court ruled that: Abortion care is a fundamental right under the Constitution of Kenya and that arbitrary arrests and prosecution of patients and healthcare providers seeking or offering such services is illegal. Protecting access to abortion impacts vital Constitutional values, including dignity, autonomy, equality, and bodily integrity. Criminalizing abortion under Penal Code without Constitutional statutory framework is an impairment to the enjoyment of women’s reproductive right. For years, women and girls in Kenya have faced sustained and pervasive discrimination hampering their access to seeking reproductive healthcare services; the 1963 Penal Code criminalizes all abortion care, including those allowed under the Constitution 2010, which guarantees the right to healthcare, including access to reproductive health services. The Constitution only permits safe abortion if in the opinion of a trained health professional, there is need for emergency treatment, or the life or health of the mother is at risk/in danger. The court case in question, filed in November 2020, involved PAK, a minor 16 years of age from Kilifi County. PAK experienced complications during pregnancy and immediately sought medical care at a nearby clinic where a trained clinical officer attended to her. Upon examining her, the clinical officer determined that she had lost the pregnancy and proceeded to provide her with essential and life-saving post-abortion care. Policy officers stormed the clinic, in the midst of the treatment, stopping the medical procedure and confiscating PAK’s treatment records. They then proceeded to illegally arrest both PAK and the clinical officer. Both were taken to Ganze Police Patrol Base where PAK was not allowed to access further medical care for the next two days and was forced to sign a statement which was contrary to PAK’s description of the events. The police also forced PAK to undergo another detailed medical examination at Kilifi County Hospital to obtain evidence to prove the alleged offence of abortion. The clinical officer was detained for one week while PAK was remanded to a juvenile remand for more than a month, whilst she and her family sought to secure the cash bail for her release. The Malindi High Court has further directed the Parliament to enact an abortion law and public policy framework that aligns with the Kenyan Constitution. Additionally, the Court has confirmed that communication between a patient and the healthcare provider is confidential, which is guaranteed and protected under the Constitution and other enabling laws, save for where the disclosure is consented to by the patient or is in the public interest in line with the limitations as provided for in the Constitution. In its decision, the Court also ruled that PAK was recovering from medical procedure and police did not have the medical qualifications to determine and confirm that she was medically-fit to leave the clinic, regardless of her admission status at the clinic. Additionally, the Court found that PAK’s arrest was inhuman and degrading, and being a minor, she ought not to have been interrogated without legal representation. Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry, Africa Regional Director from the International Planned Parenthood Federation, said: “We are absolutely delighted to hear this news and applaud the High Court of Malindi's ruling confirming that abortion care is a fundamental right under the Constitution of Kenya and that arbitrary arrests and prosecution of patients and healthcare providers for seeking or offering such services is illegal. We are also very pleased to hear that the Court has directed Parliament to enact an abortion law and public policy framework that aligns with the Constitution. This is a victory for women and girls not only in Kenya, but across Africa! Access to quality abortion is essential to guarantee the health and reproductive rights of women and girls everywhere. At IPPF, we are committed to reducing the number of deaths of women and girls who are forced to turn to unsafe abortion methods for fear of arrests and harassment. We will continue to supply and support safe and legal abortion services and care for women and girls everywhere.” The petitioners were represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights a network of reproductive health providers whose member was the second petitioner in this case and a collaborative partner of IPPF. The advocates were Martin Onyango, Head of Legal Strategies for Africa, and Prudence Mutiso, Legal Advisor for Africa. Nelly Munyasia, Executive Director of Reproductive Health Network Kenya (RHNK), , welcomed the court’s decision: “Many qualified reproductive healthcare practitioners continue to be arrested, detained, and prosecuted for providing legal medical care. The court’s decision confirms that prosecution against health providers cannot hold where the prosecution has not established that; the health professional in question was unqualified to conduct the procedure; the life or health of the woman was not in danger or the woman was not in need of emergency treatment,” Ms. Munyasia said. Evelyne Opondo, Senior Regional Director for Africa at Center for Reproductive Rights said: “Today’s victory is for all women, girls, and healthcare providers who have been treated as criminals for seeking and providing abortion care. The court has vindicated our position by affirming that forcing a woman to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term or to seek out an unsafe abortion is a gross violation of her rights to privacy and bodily autonomy. Further, the continued restrictive abortion laws inhibit quality improvement possible to protect women with unintended pregnancies.” Center fact sheet: “The Impact of the Misalignment Between Kenya’s Constitution and the Penal Code on Access to Reproductive Health Care”

18 July, Durban: Gender Based Violence (GBV) must be recognised and addressed if we are to end HIV and AIDS urged the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) at a panel during the International AIDS Conference Monday. The impact of HIV among women and girls in all their diversity is significant and alarming. Women’s greater physical vulnerability to HIV is compounded by social norms, gender inequalities, poverty and violence. Women living with HIV are also more likely to face stigmatisation, infertility, and even abuse and abandonment, contributing to their disempowerment. In East and Southern Africa, the risk of HIV among women who have experienced violence maybe three times higher In Uganda and South Africa studies found women who experienced intimate partner violence were 50 per cent more likely to have HIV than women who had not experienced violence. In many countries in Africa, getting married is among the ‘riskiest’ behaviour for women, where they may be exposed to unprotected sex with a husband who has multiple sexual partners, and to underlying power dynamics between men and women that prevent women from accessing condoms and then insisting on their use. Julia Omondi, a 24 year old advocate from Family Health Options Kenya (FHOK) highlighted the most common root causes of gender based violence and HIV, ‘I work with a group of 50 young girls like myself, called the 3E advocates to prevent girls from child marriage; support girls who are living with HIV to understand their rights, make parents and communities aware of the laws that protect girls from child marriage. We need to raise our voices to stop child marriage and turn the tide against HIV’. “Empowerment + Engagement = Equality” is a joint project supported by UN Women and IPPF implemented in Kenya, Malawi and Uganda to address HIV vulnerability among adolescent girls and young women by engaging and empowering them. Traditional leaders like the senior chief Theresa Kachindamoto from Malawi spoke of her role to change harmful gender related practices, she said, ‘Chiefs as custodians of culture should be  at the forefront to end cultural practices that negatively affect people’s health like sexual cleansing (Fisi), chief blanket. My village is now a model for others and my fellow chiefs come to learn about the change I have brought to Dedtza district in Malawi.’      Nazneen Damji, Policy Advisor- gender equality, health and HIV/AIDS at UN Women, highlighted the recognition by global leaders on the importance of addressing GBV and HIV. “Violence, and the fear of violence, can play a major role in women’s reluctance to know her HIV status and seek care.  Fortunately, the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS adopted in June at the UN General Assembly and the Resolution on women, the girl child and HIV adopted at the 60th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women both call on governments to intensify efforts to end all forms of violence against women and girls, including harmful practices that contribute to the spread of HIV amongst women and girls” ‘Civil society organisations like IPPF play an important part in holding governments accountable.  We shouldn’t underestimate our role as advocates to inform national, regional and global policies. If we are to address the dual epidemics of GBV and HIV we need to have progressive polices where perpetrators can be brought to justice and laws and policies uphold gender equality’  said  Zelda Nhlabatsi, the executive director of Family Life Association of Swaziland (FLAS). The session was sponsored  by IPPF Africa Region, UN Women and the Ford Foundation.