With support from the FY2022 Supplementary Budget received from the Government of Japan, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) Member Associations in four countries, namely Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Pakistan and Ukraine will protect the health and lives of vulnerable populations affected by conflict and natural disasters through the community-based provision of sexual and reproductive health and essential health services, including maternal and child health, in the following areas:   Afghanistan: 9 provinces (Karpisa, Parvan, Badakhshan, Laghman, Logar, Bamiyan, Samangan, Baruch and Paktika)  Ethiopia: 3 provinces (Afar, Amhara, Somali).   Pakistan: 2 provinces (Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).  Ukraine: 2 cities (Odessa, Poltava).  In all countries the implementation of activities will be a participatory, inclusive and rights-based process that puts people at the centre, responding to their specific circumstances, challenges faced, needs and aspirations, while allowing the most vulnerable to have a voice. It also seeks to realise human security through the provision of relevant health services, especially for women, so that they can live with dignity and free from threats such as unwanted pregnancy, death of themselves and their newborns, and reproductive ill-health. By using and expanding local networks, knowledge, human resources and facilities developed through years of grassroots activities in each country, IPPF will expand the impact of our activities and cause lasting change in people's lives.  The IPPF Director General, Dr Alvaro Bemejo, said, "I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the people of Japan for this invaluable support they have given to the IPPF. We will fully utilise this opportunity to deliver our services to as many vulnerable people as possible and will do our utmost to be there for them and support them."   In the year to December 2023, IPPF, through our local partners, will aim to deliver health services and information to at least 270,000 people across the four countries.   For further information, please contact Yuri Taniguchi of IPPF London at [email protected].          

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.

Today, the Danish Family Planning Association (DFPA) together with the Danish All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs convened a conference with the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) on the challenges of sexual and reproductive health and  rights (SRHR) in humanitarian crises. HRH the Crown Princess of Denmark and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) were also in attendance. HKHK Mary: women are not vulnerable in hum crises because they are weak but because they lack equality #SRHRinCrises pic.twitter.com/EOhV38IpBi — Mette Gjerskov (@MetteGjerskov) February 4, 2016 More than 100 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. It is estimated that 26 million are women and adolescent girls of reproductive age of which 500 die every day from complications related to  pregnancy and childbirths. For example, the Syrian civil war has resulted in a 39% rise in maternal mortality since 2010 and gender-based violence is affecting at least 7 out of 10 women in some crisis settings. This shows a great need for humanitarian actors to ensure that the human rights of women and girls are protected and able to access sexual and reproductive healthcare.   // IPPF: saving lives in crises Right now more than 250,000 women and girls need help. IPPF provides the emergency response needed, like family planning, which can reduce maternal deaths by 33%. SEXUAL & REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES SAVES LIVES. AND IS A HUMAN RIGHT. Posted by IPPF on Thursday, 4 February 2016 The increasing number of humanitarian crises calls for serious rethinking of the current humanitarian response. The status of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) violations in humanitarian crises must be confronted and prevented. Over the past decade, IPPF has reached millions of people during floods, conflicts, earthquakes, cyclones when health care often collapsed, IPPF Member Associations continued to serve the unreachable particularly women which make three quarters of IPPF clients. We have an organizational strategy to address sexual and reproductive needs before, during and after humanitarian crises.  IPPF starts with its Minimum Initial Service Package, which is life-saving, and transition to its Integrated Package of Essential services, which is life-changing. This ensure that a sxual and reproductive health situation is better after the crisis than before. @LcrTrc Crown Princess & @ippf CEO champion #women's #health & #rights in #humanitarian crisis settings pic.twitter.com/4ajLr0rkXg — Matthew Lindley (@t__box) February 4, 2016 Director general, Tewodros Melesse said, "Access to these services,especially in the midst of war or natural disaster, is a human right which does not only saves lives in the short run, but also helps build resilience amongst refugees and displaced people. It’s one of the most important aspects of humanitarian assistance that is often forgotten when disaster and conflicts strike."