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

Expanding contraceptive choices offers the potential to put power into women’s hands said the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) in reaction to the Sayana Press announcement by Pfizer BD, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and CIFF today. IPPF is already playing a major role in the introduction of Sayana Press to increase access to the world’s most poorest and underserved women and girls. Sayana Press is offered as part of the contraceptive mix by IPPF’s Member Associations in Uganda, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Senegal. They are doing this by providing Sayana Press at our extensive network of clinics, and by training community volunteers and government staff to give women Sayana Press in their own communities. Tewodros Melesse, Director General IPPF said; “This announcement is a great opportunity to enable women and girls who are often left behind because they are poor, unable to make decisions because of their partners, too far from a clinic or disabled to access contraception. Sayana Press has the potential to reach those who have never been able to access family planning before. We have seen that Sayana Press is popular with women in remote communities who can’t easily get to a clinic or drug shop. We are keen to see countries move towards community based distribution and ultimately, self-injections. All efforts must truly reach the last mile. Enabling women to administer in their own time and wherever they are is the only way to put power truly into women’s hands. It is a great step in helping to tackle the needs of the most poorest or neglected women and girls. But like any contraceptive, it must be offered as part of a broader mix of methods available and not favored more than others. Choice means every women and girl has the right to choose about their contraception wherever and whoever they are.”   IPPF launched its annual global I Decide Campaign on family planning today.   IPPF is fighting for a world where women everywhere can say "I decide". Support our call for universal access to contraception! Add your voice

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.