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News

Latest news from IPPF

Spotlight

A selection of news from across the Federation

IPPF and MAs at CSW
News item

IPPF Statement on the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)

IPPF welcomes the agreed conclusions of the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), on the theme of “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective”. IPPF actively engaged in the process by providing technical inputs to Member States, raising awareness about the interlinkages between SRHR, poverty, gender equality and the empowerment and human rights of all women and girls.
Sudanese woman
news item

| 27 February 2024

Government of Japan awards IPPF $1.9 million to support women and girls affected by natural disasters and conflicts around the world

With support from the Government of Japan, International Planned Parenthood Federation’s (IPPF) Member Associations in five countries, namely Afghanistan, Palestine, Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen, will provide urgent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to communities affected by natural disasters and conflict situations.  These IPPF Member Associations will: Provide sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and maternal and child health services for women and girls and marginalized communities in six remote and flood affected provinces in Afghanistan; Provide urgent sexual and reproductive health services to communities affected by the escalating violence in Palestine; Improve accessibility of services and community sustainability to decrease sexual and reproductive health-related mortality and morbidity of women and girls in three States with high internally-displaced populations in Sudan; Restore health facilities and access to maternal health services in conflict affected areas for populations affected by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine;  Provide critical sexual, reproductive and maternal health care to internally displaced people and local communities in Yemen. This vital funding from Japan will help with provision of badly needed but currently missing health services, especially for women, so that they can live with dignity and free from unwanted pregnancies, death of themselves and their newborns, and reproductive ill-health. It will allow us to provide essential and quality SRH and maternal and child health services in the communities, prevent and manage the consequences of sexual and gender-based violence, including the clinical management of rape, equip community-based midwives with skills to provide high quality obstetric and neonatal services and strengthen health information systems to collect high quality data to respond to the needs and priorities of women and girls’ health. IPPF Director General, Dr Alvaro Bemejo, said, "I offer heartfelt thanks to the Government of Japan for their  unparalleled generosity to enable IPPF to respond to the needs of women and girls caught up in crises around the world. This generosity will allow IPPF and our local partners to provide a critical lifeline to the growing number of people in desperate need of humanitarian assistance."   By the end of December 2024, IPPF, through our local partners in the five countries, will aim to deliver health services and information to at least 239,000 people in total.   For further information, please contact Yuri Taniguchi, IPPF London Office, at [email protected].   Photo Credits: IPPF/Hannah Maule-ffinch/Sudan

Sudanese woman
news_item

| 27 February 2024

Government of Japan awards IPPF $1.9 million to support women and girls affected by natural disasters and conflicts around the world

With support from the Government of Japan, International Planned Parenthood Federation’s (IPPF) Member Associations in five countries, namely Afghanistan, Palestine, Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen, will provide urgent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to communities affected by natural disasters and conflict situations.  These IPPF Member Associations will: Provide sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and maternal and child health services for women and girls and marginalized communities in six remote and flood affected provinces in Afghanistan; Provide urgent sexual and reproductive health services to communities affected by the escalating violence in Palestine; Improve accessibility of services and community sustainability to decrease sexual and reproductive health-related mortality and morbidity of women and girls in three States with high internally-displaced populations in Sudan; Restore health facilities and access to maternal health services in conflict affected areas for populations affected by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine;  Provide critical sexual, reproductive and maternal health care to internally displaced people and local communities in Yemen. This vital funding from Japan will help with provision of badly needed but currently missing health services, especially for women, so that they can live with dignity and free from unwanted pregnancies, death of themselves and their newborns, and reproductive ill-health. It will allow us to provide essential and quality SRH and maternal and child health services in the communities, prevent and manage the consequences of sexual and gender-based violence, including the clinical management of rape, equip community-based midwives with skills to provide high quality obstetric and neonatal services and strengthen health information systems to collect high quality data to respond to the needs and priorities of women and girls’ health. IPPF Director General, Dr Alvaro Bemejo, said, "I offer heartfelt thanks to the Government of Japan for their  unparalleled generosity to enable IPPF to respond to the needs of women and girls caught up in crises around the world. This generosity will allow IPPF and our local partners to provide a critical lifeline to the growing number of people in desperate need of humanitarian assistance."   By the end of December 2024, IPPF, through our local partners in the five countries, will aim to deliver health services and information to at least 239,000 people in total.   For further information, please contact Yuri Taniguchi, IPPF London Office, at [email protected].   Photo Credits: IPPF/Hannah Maule-ffinch/Sudan

japanese-mp
news item

| 17 August 2023

Japanese MP visits IPPF Member Association in Mozambique

On 16 August 2023, Japanese House of Representatives member Dr Toshiko Abe visited head office and the Adolescent and Youth Friendly Services Centre of IPPF’s Member Association in Mozambique, the Associação Moçambicana para Desenvolvimento da Família (AMODEFA). Dr Abe visited one of AMODEFA’s eight youth centres in a particularly marginalised and high poverty density area, where youth friendly health services is difficult to reach for the local youth who need them most. Their youth centre functions as the hub of youth target activities such as provision of a range of services from HIV testing and treatment to SRHR counselling and other information and services around sexual health and rights. In 2022 23.57 % of AMODEFA’s family planning services were provided to clients under 20 years. AMODEFA was established in 1989 and has been IPPF’s Full Member Association since 2010. It is an independent, non-profit, and non-governmental association working in 10 provinces in Mozambique. As the leading service provider in Mozambique, AMODEFA provides comprehensive and diverse sexual and reproductive health, including that related to SGBV. Their focus is on vulnerable people such as women, girls, people with disabilities.

japanese-mp
news_item

| 17 August 2023

Japanese MP visits IPPF Member Association in Mozambique

On 16 August 2023, Japanese House of Representatives member Dr Toshiko Abe visited head office and the Adolescent and Youth Friendly Services Centre of IPPF’s Member Association in Mozambique, the Associação Moçambicana para Desenvolvimento da Família (AMODEFA). Dr Abe visited one of AMODEFA’s eight youth centres in a particularly marginalised and high poverty density area, where youth friendly health services is difficult to reach for the local youth who need them most. Their youth centre functions as the hub of youth target activities such as provision of a range of services from HIV testing and treatment to SRHR counselling and other information and services around sexual health and rights. In 2022 23.57 % of AMODEFA’s family planning services were provided to clients under 20 years. AMODEFA was established in 1989 and has been IPPF’s Full Member Association since 2010. It is an independent, non-profit, and non-governmental association working in 10 provinces in Mozambique. As the leading service provider in Mozambique, AMODEFA provides comprehensive and diverse sexual and reproductive health, including that related to SGBV. Their focus is on vulnerable people such as women, girls, people with disabilities.

Amodefa staff with clients in Maputo suburbs. credits: IPPF/Lee Neuenburg/Mozambique/2017
news item

| 07 December 2017

Al Jazeera highlights Global Gag Rule impact for IPPF Member Association in Mozambique

In the latest People and Power documentary, the team travel round Mozambique with AMODEFA, to look first-hand at the human impact the Gag rule has had in the country. 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 prevention and treatment for any organisation that refuses to sign it. The documentary talks to AMODEFA clients and staff who have been involved and helped by the US funded health programmes covering young people, HIV and Tuberculosis. AMODEFA faces significant losses to their programming budget of $2 million. Work that has built trust and provided support and treatment for many people who would have been left behind. The documentary spans several provinces, with the team visiting specialised outreach services that go out to the most rural populations. ‘We will have generations that are sick without knowing what they have. They will run the risk of transmitting HIV to other people because they do not know their HIV status,’ says project leader, Dr Marcel Kant. ‘We are condemning our society to live with this illness and there will be a large number of deaths.’ IPPF is working with AMODEFA to find alternative sources of funding. Executive Director Santos Simione, is working tirelessly with his team to ensure AMODEFA’s works continues, “We must be resilient! This also means being resilient to ensure that the progress made in sexual and reproductive health and rights continues and the provision of services minimizes the suffering of our population, particularly adolescents and young people, women and children”. The team Read more about AMODEFA's tireless work in Mozambique

Amodefa staff with clients in Maputo suburbs. credits: IPPF/Lee Neuenburg/Mozambique/2017
news_item

| 07 December 2017

Al Jazeera highlights Global Gag Rule impact for IPPF Member Association in Mozambique

In the latest People and Power documentary, the team travel round Mozambique with AMODEFA, to look first-hand at the human impact the Gag rule has had in the country. 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 prevention and treatment for any organisation that refuses to sign it. The documentary talks to AMODEFA clients and staff who have been involved and helped by the US funded health programmes covering young people, HIV and Tuberculosis. AMODEFA faces significant losses to their programming budget of $2 million. Work that has built trust and provided support and treatment for many people who would have been left behind. The documentary spans several provinces, with the team visiting specialised outreach services that go out to the most rural populations. ‘We will have generations that are sick without knowing what they have. They will run the risk of transmitting HIV to other people because they do not know their HIV status,’ says project leader, Dr Marcel Kant. ‘We are condemning our society to live with this illness and there will be a large number of deaths.’ IPPF is working with AMODEFA to find alternative sources of funding. Executive Director Santos Simione, is working tirelessly with his team to ensure AMODEFA’s works continues, “We must be resilient! This also means being resilient to ensure that the progress made in sexual and reproductive health and rights continues and the provision of services minimizes the suffering of our population, particularly adolescents and young people, women and children”. The team Read more about AMODEFA's tireless work in Mozambique

Yemen mobile clinic IPPF
news item

| 13 February 2017

Saving lives in Yemen

Amran is a small city about fifty kilometres north-west of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a. It is one of the poorest areas in the country, with extremely low health indicators.  More than 58,000 internally displaced people are living in Amran, according to one report from the Task Force on Population Movements. This is the highest number of displaced people in the country.  The Yemeni Association for Reproductive Health (YARH) is IPPF's accredited partner on the ground. Through them IPPF is prioritizing health access for women and girls, especially for those who are pregnant. YARH is also providing essential life-saving services to vulnerable groups. These people are at risk of sexual violence and fatal illness and diseases.     YARH, with Yemen's Ministry of Public Health and Population, deployed a mobile medical team to Amran between September and November 2016. They treated approximately 600 internally displaced people, more than two-thirds of them women, who mostly received pre and postnatal care, counselling, contraception and essential medical treatment.  The mobile team was made up of a female medical doctor and two midwives, two coordinators and a driver. They targeted displaced people in three remote districts: Khamir, Raydah and Kharif. With support from UNFPA and the Yemeni Women Union, we distributed a total of 1,000 dignity kits in Yemen. We also provided clean delivery kits to pregnant women in need. A low take up of family planning among these women is due to both a lack of awareness of and access to reproductive health services. In our raising awareness sessions we placed great importance on child spacing and how this can improve maternal and child health. We also reached just under 2000 people in displaced communities, with information on breastfeeding, nutrition and hygiene. In other initiatives on the ground, YARH is also working together with people living with HIV and up-skilling service providers on delivering contraceptive implants. Complementing these activities are empowerment projects youth leadership programmes to increase access to comprehensive sexuality education. Conditions are extremely tough – and dangerous – but we remain committed to serving the people of Yemen and doing all we can for their sexual and reproductive health.

Yemen mobile clinic IPPF
news_item

| 13 February 2017

Saving lives in Yemen

Amran is a small city about fifty kilometres north-west of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a. It is one of the poorest areas in the country, with extremely low health indicators.  More than 58,000 internally displaced people are living in Amran, according to one report from the Task Force on Population Movements. This is the highest number of displaced people in the country.  The Yemeni Association for Reproductive Health (YARH) is IPPF's accredited partner on the ground. Through them IPPF is prioritizing health access for women and girls, especially for those who are pregnant. YARH is also providing essential life-saving services to vulnerable groups. These people are at risk of sexual violence and fatal illness and diseases.     YARH, with Yemen's Ministry of Public Health and Population, deployed a mobile medical team to Amran between September and November 2016. They treated approximately 600 internally displaced people, more than two-thirds of them women, who mostly received pre and postnatal care, counselling, contraception and essential medical treatment.  The mobile team was made up of a female medical doctor and two midwives, two coordinators and a driver. They targeted displaced people in three remote districts: Khamir, Raydah and Kharif. With support from UNFPA and the Yemeni Women Union, we distributed a total of 1,000 dignity kits in Yemen. We also provided clean delivery kits to pregnant women in need. A low take up of family planning among these women is due to both a lack of awareness of and access to reproductive health services. In our raising awareness sessions we placed great importance on child spacing and how this can improve maternal and child health. We also reached just under 2000 people in displaced communities, with information on breastfeeding, nutrition and hygiene. In other initiatives on the ground, YARH is also working together with people living with HIV and up-skilling service providers on delivering contraceptive implants. Complementing these activities are empowerment projects youth leadership programmes to increase access to comprehensive sexuality education. Conditions are extremely tough – and dangerous – but we remain committed to serving the people of Yemen and doing all we can for their sexual and reproductive health.

Sudanese woman
news item

| 27 February 2024

Government of Japan awards IPPF $1.9 million to support women and girls affected by natural disasters and conflicts around the world

With support from the Government of Japan, International Planned Parenthood Federation’s (IPPF) Member Associations in five countries, namely Afghanistan, Palestine, Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen, will provide urgent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to communities affected by natural disasters and conflict situations.  These IPPF Member Associations will: Provide sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and maternal and child health services for women and girls and marginalized communities in six remote and flood affected provinces in Afghanistan; Provide urgent sexual and reproductive health services to communities affected by the escalating violence in Palestine; Improve accessibility of services and community sustainability to decrease sexual and reproductive health-related mortality and morbidity of women and girls in three States with high internally-displaced populations in Sudan; Restore health facilities and access to maternal health services in conflict affected areas for populations affected by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine;  Provide critical sexual, reproductive and maternal health care to internally displaced people and local communities in Yemen. This vital funding from Japan will help with provision of badly needed but currently missing health services, especially for women, so that they can live with dignity and free from unwanted pregnancies, death of themselves and their newborns, and reproductive ill-health. It will allow us to provide essential and quality SRH and maternal and child health services in the communities, prevent and manage the consequences of sexual and gender-based violence, including the clinical management of rape, equip community-based midwives with skills to provide high quality obstetric and neonatal services and strengthen health information systems to collect high quality data to respond to the needs and priorities of women and girls’ health. IPPF Director General, Dr Alvaro Bemejo, said, "I offer heartfelt thanks to the Government of Japan for their  unparalleled generosity to enable IPPF to respond to the needs of women and girls caught up in crises around the world. This generosity will allow IPPF and our local partners to provide a critical lifeline to the growing number of people in desperate need of humanitarian assistance."   By the end of December 2024, IPPF, through our local partners in the five countries, will aim to deliver health services and information to at least 239,000 people in total.   For further information, please contact Yuri Taniguchi, IPPF London Office, at [email protected].   Photo Credits: IPPF/Hannah Maule-ffinch/Sudan

Sudanese woman
news_item

| 27 February 2024

Government of Japan awards IPPF $1.9 million to support women and girls affected by natural disasters and conflicts around the world

With support from the Government of Japan, International Planned Parenthood Federation’s (IPPF) Member Associations in five countries, namely Afghanistan, Palestine, Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen, will provide urgent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to communities affected by natural disasters and conflict situations.  These IPPF Member Associations will: Provide sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and maternal and child health services for women and girls and marginalized communities in six remote and flood affected provinces in Afghanistan; Provide urgent sexual and reproductive health services to communities affected by the escalating violence in Palestine; Improve accessibility of services and community sustainability to decrease sexual and reproductive health-related mortality and morbidity of women and girls in three States with high internally-displaced populations in Sudan; Restore health facilities and access to maternal health services in conflict affected areas for populations affected by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine;  Provide critical sexual, reproductive and maternal health care to internally displaced people and local communities in Yemen. This vital funding from Japan will help with provision of badly needed but currently missing health services, especially for women, so that they can live with dignity and free from unwanted pregnancies, death of themselves and their newborns, and reproductive ill-health. It will allow us to provide essential and quality SRH and maternal and child health services in the communities, prevent and manage the consequences of sexual and gender-based violence, including the clinical management of rape, equip community-based midwives with skills to provide high quality obstetric and neonatal services and strengthen health information systems to collect high quality data to respond to the needs and priorities of women and girls’ health. IPPF Director General, Dr Alvaro Bemejo, said, "I offer heartfelt thanks to the Government of Japan for their  unparalleled generosity to enable IPPF to respond to the needs of women and girls caught up in crises around the world. This generosity will allow IPPF and our local partners to provide a critical lifeline to the growing number of people in desperate need of humanitarian assistance."   By the end of December 2024, IPPF, through our local partners in the five countries, will aim to deliver health services and information to at least 239,000 people in total.   For further information, please contact Yuri Taniguchi, IPPF London Office, at [email protected].   Photo Credits: IPPF/Hannah Maule-ffinch/Sudan

japanese-mp
news item

| 17 August 2023

Japanese MP visits IPPF Member Association in Mozambique

On 16 August 2023, Japanese House of Representatives member Dr Toshiko Abe visited head office and the Adolescent and Youth Friendly Services Centre of IPPF’s Member Association in Mozambique, the Associação Moçambicana para Desenvolvimento da Família (AMODEFA). Dr Abe visited one of AMODEFA’s eight youth centres in a particularly marginalised and high poverty density area, where youth friendly health services is difficult to reach for the local youth who need them most. Their youth centre functions as the hub of youth target activities such as provision of a range of services from HIV testing and treatment to SRHR counselling and other information and services around sexual health and rights. In 2022 23.57 % of AMODEFA’s family planning services were provided to clients under 20 years. AMODEFA was established in 1989 and has been IPPF’s Full Member Association since 2010. It is an independent, non-profit, and non-governmental association working in 10 provinces in Mozambique. As the leading service provider in Mozambique, AMODEFA provides comprehensive and diverse sexual and reproductive health, including that related to SGBV. Their focus is on vulnerable people such as women, girls, people with disabilities.

japanese-mp
news_item

| 17 August 2023

Japanese MP visits IPPF Member Association in Mozambique

On 16 August 2023, Japanese House of Representatives member Dr Toshiko Abe visited head office and the Adolescent and Youth Friendly Services Centre of IPPF’s Member Association in Mozambique, the Associação Moçambicana para Desenvolvimento da Família (AMODEFA). Dr Abe visited one of AMODEFA’s eight youth centres in a particularly marginalised and high poverty density area, where youth friendly health services is difficult to reach for the local youth who need them most. Their youth centre functions as the hub of youth target activities such as provision of a range of services from HIV testing and treatment to SRHR counselling and other information and services around sexual health and rights. In 2022 23.57 % of AMODEFA’s family planning services were provided to clients under 20 years. AMODEFA was established in 1989 and has been IPPF’s Full Member Association since 2010. It is an independent, non-profit, and non-governmental association working in 10 provinces in Mozambique. As the leading service provider in Mozambique, AMODEFA provides comprehensive and diverse sexual and reproductive health, including that related to SGBV. Their focus is on vulnerable people such as women, girls, people with disabilities.

Amodefa staff with clients in Maputo suburbs. credits: IPPF/Lee Neuenburg/Mozambique/2017
news item

| 07 December 2017

Al Jazeera highlights Global Gag Rule impact for IPPF Member Association in Mozambique

In the latest People and Power documentary, the team travel round Mozambique with AMODEFA, to look first-hand at the human impact the Gag rule has had in the country. 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 prevention and treatment for any organisation that refuses to sign it. The documentary talks to AMODEFA clients and staff who have been involved and helped by the US funded health programmes covering young people, HIV and Tuberculosis. AMODEFA faces significant losses to their programming budget of $2 million. Work that has built trust and provided support and treatment for many people who would have been left behind. The documentary spans several provinces, with the team visiting specialised outreach services that go out to the most rural populations. ‘We will have generations that are sick without knowing what they have. They will run the risk of transmitting HIV to other people because they do not know their HIV status,’ says project leader, Dr Marcel Kant. ‘We are condemning our society to live with this illness and there will be a large number of deaths.’ IPPF is working with AMODEFA to find alternative sources of funding. Executive Director Santos Simione, is working tirelessly with his team to ensure AMODEFA’s works continues, “We must be resilient! This also means being resilient to ensure that the progress made in sexual and reproductive health and rights continues and the provision of services minimizes the suffering of our population, particularly adolescents and young people, women and children”. The team Read more about AMODEFA's tireless work in Mozambique

Amodefa staff with clients in Maputo suburbs. credits: IPPF/Lee Neuenburg/Mozambique/2017
news_item

| 07 December 2017

Al Jazeera highlights Global Gag Rule impact for IPPF Member Association in Mozambique

In the latest People and Power documentary, the team travel round Mozambique with AMODEFA, to look first-hand at the human impact the Gag rule has had in the country. 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 prevention and treatment for any organisation that refuses to sign it. The documentary talks to AMODEFA clients and staff who have been involved and helped by the US funded health programmes covering young people, HIV and Tuberculosis. AMODEFA faces significant losses to their programming budget of $2 million. Work that has built trust and provided support and treatment for many people who would have been left behind. The documentary spans several provinces, with the team visiting specialised outreach services that go out to the most rural populations. ‘We will have generations that are sick without knowing what they have. They will run the risk of transmitting HIV to other people because they do not know their HIV status,’ says project leader, Dr Marcel Kant. ‘We are condemning our society to live with this illness and there will be a large number of deaths.’ IPPF is working with AMODEFA to find alternative sources of funding. Executive Director Santos Simione, is working tirelessly with his team to ensure AMODEFA’s works continues, “We must be resilient! This also means being resilient to ensure that the progress made in sexual and reproductive health and rights continues and the provision of services minimizes the suffering of our population, particularly adolescents and young people, women and children”. The team Read more about AMODEFA's tireless work in Mozambique

Yemen mobile clinic IPPF
news item

| 13 February 2017

Saving lives in Yemen

Amran is a small city about fifty kilometres north-west of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a. It is one of the poorest areas in the country, with extremely low health indicators.  More than 58,000 internally displaced people are living in Amran, according to one report from the Task Force on Population Movements. This is the highest number of displaced people in the country.  The Yemeni Association for Reproductive Health (YARH) is IPPF's accredited partner on the ground. Through them IPPF is prioritizing health access for women and girls, especially for those who are pregnant. YARH is also providing essential life-saving services to vulnerable groups. These people are at risk of sexual violence and fatal illness and diseases.     YARH, with Yemen's Ministry of Public Health and Population, deployed a mobile medical team to Amran between September and November 2016. They treated approximately 600 internally displaced people, more than two-thirds of them women, who mostly received pre and postnatal care, counselling, contraception and essential medical treatment.  The mobile team was made up of a female medical doctor and two midwives, two coordinators and a driver. They targeted displaced people in three remote districts: Khamir, Raydah and Kharif. With support from UNFPA and the Yemeni Women Union, we distributed a total of 1,000 dignity kits in Yemen. We also provided clean delivery kits to pregnant women in need. A low take up of family planning among these women is due to both a lack of awareness of and access to reproductive health services. In our raising awareness sessions we placed great importance on child spacing and how this can improve maternal and child health. We also reached just under 2000 people in displaced communities, with information on breastfeeding, nutrition and hygiene. In other initiatives on the ground, YARH is also working together with people living with HIV and up-skilling service providers on delivering contraceptive implants. Complementing these activities are empowerment projects youth leadership programmes to increase access to comprehensive sexuality education. Conditions are extremely tough – and dangerous – but we remain committed to serving the people of Yemen and doing all we can for their sexual and reproductive health.

Yemen mobile clinic IPPF
news_item

| 13 February 2017

Saving lives in Yemen

Amran is a small city about fifty kilometres north-west of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a. It is one of the poorest areas in the country, with extremely low health indicators.  More than 58,000 internally displaced people are living in Amran, according to one report from the Task Force on Population Movements. This is the highest number of displaced people in the country.  The Yemeni Association for Reproductive Health (YARH) is IPPF's accredited partner on the ground. Through them IPPF is prioritizing health access for women and girls, especially for those who are pregnant. YARH is also providing essential life-saving services to vulnerable groups. These people are at risk of sexual violence and fatal illness and diseases.     YARH, with Yemen's Ministry of Public Health and Population, deployed a mobile medical team to Amran between September and November 2016. They treated approximately 600 internally displaced people, more than two-thirds of them women, who mostly received pre and postnatal care, counselling, contraception and essential medical treatment.  The mobile team was made up of a female medical doctor and two midwives, two coordinators and a driver. They targeted displaced people in three remote districts: Khamir, Raydah and Kharif. With support from UNFPA and the Yemeni Women Union, we distributed a total of 1,000 dignity kits in Yemen. We also provided clean delivery kits to pregnant women in need. A low take up of family planning among these women is due to both a lack of awareness of and access to reproductive health services. In our raising awareness sessions we placed great importance on child spacing and how this can improve maternal and child health. We also reached just under 2000 people in displaced communities, with information on breastfeeding, nutrition and hygiene. In other initiatives on the ground, YARH is also working together with people living with HIV and up-skilling service providers on delivering contraceptive implants. Complementing these activities are empowerment projects youth leadership programmes to increase access to comprehensive sexuality education. Conditions are extremely tough – and dangerous – but we remain committed to serving the people of Yemen and doing all we can for their sexual and reproductive health.