2023 was an intense year with many highs and lows for SRHR and gender equality, against the backdrop of a global landscape marked by multiple conflicts, looming climate crisis and the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. IPPF’s humanitarian response continued to provide care to Ukrainian women and girls across multiple countries as Russia’s war in Ukraine showed no sign of abating. And as conflict escalated between Hamas and Israel, IPPF initiated support to its local MAs in Israel and in Gaza to ensure, as far as possible, the uninterrupted delivery of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services.

Many states in Europe and Central Asia faced orchestrated attacks on the rights of women, LGBTIQ people and other marginalised groups. We continued to see how, as threats to our freedoms and intimate lives transcend national borders, so too must progressive movements in their defence of democratic values and human rights. It was in this spirit of solidarity that our regional Power of the Many Forum in October gathered over 150 people from 30 countries to explore how we can collectively advance inclusive, intersectional feminist causes.

Despite the setbacks, we celebrated and were encouraged by many positive developments. Voters in Poland, including record numbers of women and young people, succeeded in removing the extremist Law and Justice party from government, providing hope for their country’s gradual return to European values and respect for women’s rights. France took first steps towards enshrining abortion rights in its Constitution, bolstering momentum for stronger European Union (EU) action to safeguard reproductive freedom. And the EU institutions reached agreement on a landmark new law to combat violence against women which, while not perfect, contains real SRHR wins and paves the way for stronger EU action on gender based violence in the future.

We acted in solidarity with activists and advocates fighting for SRHR in hostile contexts that threaten the work and lives of human rights defenders. We had the privilege to begin walking the talk on IPPF’s global commitment to stand in allyship with people who do sex work. We built on our work implementing transformative new approaches to addressing the root causes of gender inequality. And we continued to hold European donors accountable for commitments to support SRHR, while reflecting deeply on how our sector can decolonise its approaches. 

Meanwhile, there were a great many internal changes as we proudly embarked on implementing the first year of IPPF’s Come Together Strategy 2028 in Europe and Central Asia. A global realignment meant that we saw the creation of some exciting new roles focused on youth, community engagement and partnerships, and membership support, saying goodbye to some dear colleagues while warmly welcoming wonderful newcomers. In the autumn, our new Regional Director Micah Grzywnowicz took over the leadership of the Regional Office.