Resources

Investing in family planning is the only way women and girls can have the freedom to create their own futures. The Countdown 2030 Europe consortium is calling on governments and decision-makers everywhere to put women and girls at the top of the agenda #BecauseSheCounts! The clock is ticking... www.countdown2030europe.org Read the Countdown 2030 Europe gazette, Her Chronicles, for more stories on family planning, access to contraception and more.  

In the EU all young women are free to decide about their own bodies, lives and futures. Or are they? Being denied sex and relationships literacy, stigma, gender inequalities and high costs stop girls from accessing contraception. IPPF EN cares for all women, men, children and young people across Europe and recognises their right to lead safe and dignified reproductive lives, free from harm and descrimination.  You can see the rest of our videos from this series here.

The Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for reproductive health (RH) is a coordinated set of priority activities designed to prevent excess morbidity and mortality, particularly among women and girls at the onset of humanitarian emergencies. This report shows the overall results regarding the MISP for reproductive health preparedness in Eastern Europe and Central Asia as of today compared with 2014. The main results show that there has been a significant improvement in the region from a fair level of preparedness in 2014 to a good level of preparedness in 2017. The most important achievements are linked to the establishment of national SRH working groups, which now exist in 16 countries. This is an extraordinary achievement, as this was one of the weakest areas in 2014. Improved coordination at the national level had an impact on several other areas, and the overall results reflect the importance of having coordination in place so as to be better prepared. For the future, it will be essential to maintain this momentum and continue improving SRH preparedness in the region. The report includes some recommendations in this direction. As the authors point out, we are also living at a unique time, when a light has been shone on sexual harassment and sexual violence against women and girls in developed and developing countries. In addition, refugees and migrants continue to arrive in Europe, fleeing war-ravaged countries. Although they are disappearing from the news, their situation has not improved enough in the region. Ensuring access to priority SRH services in every humanitarian crisis means making sure that everybody can receive life-saving SRH services. This includes preventing sexual violence and taking care of survivors. To ensure comprehensiveness, preparedness activities have to be enhanced to include, in a more systematic manner, adolescent girls and young female adults, unaccompanied children, LGBTI people and women and girls with disabilities or living with HIV, in line with the SDG pledge to “leave no one behind”.  

This video by our Latvian member highlights the dreadful challenges faced by women in vulnerable communities when they are denied contraceptive care and cannot decide about their own bodies, lives and futures. Papardes Zieds is calling on Latvia's government to take concrete action to make contraceptive care a reality for everyone, and to ensure that all young people are able to develop the crucial life skills provided by sex and relationships education.  

You wouldn’t expect access to contraception to be an issue in EU countries such as Spain. But too many girls and women are still being denied the freedom to make their own reproductive choices. And it is vulnerable people who face the greatest obstacles when it comes to accessing this basic healthcare. In this video by our Spanish member FPFE, we meet Olga, Deli, Lidia, Barbara and Sandra, five young women struggling to overcome barriers in the Spanish system. These range from prohibitive costs, bureaucratic hurdles and the exclusion of immigrant women from the public health system, to the failure to ensure that all young people receive sex and relationships education and can use health care services that are adapted to their specific needs. Contraception is not a luxury. It’s a healthcare issue. And a human right.

In Romania, more than 600 girls aged 10-15 become mothers every year, and almost 10% of new mothers are younger than 19! This video by our Romanian member SECS tells the story of the tens of thousands of young "pigeons" in their country who become parents too early because they are denied contraceptive care and sexuality education. #idecide