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IPPF members are working hand-in-hand with networks of actors from within and around diverse Roma communities in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia. The common goal: to improve access to life-changing sexual and reproductive healthcare for girls, women and young people, and tackle some of the deep rooted obstacles that prevent people - especially women and youth - from living safer and healthier lives. We are proud to share highlights of our work, recommendations to decision-makers and impact story in the below brochure.

In the Balkans, IPPF members are working hand-in-hand with diverse networks of actors from within and around Roma communities. This work was shaped as the My Body, My Rights project. Our common goal is to strengthen girls’ lifelong reproductive freedom and tackle some of the deep-rooted, systemic obstacles that prevent people - especially women and youth - from living safer and healthier lives. How? By increasing access to care, creating supporting contexts for choice and advocating for investment. Our work is community-driven and based on fostering local partnerships. At the heart of this collective action are Roma volunteers, girls and boys, health mediators and local NGOs, leading grassroots change and advocating for their own unique communities. Doctors, community nurses and teachers are working with them to help deliver lasting impact. And some decision-makers are stepping up and beginning to make much-needed investments in more equitable access to reproductive healthcare. We are proud to share highlights of our work, recommendations to decision-makers and resources for further reading. Explore our new microsite!   

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine on 24th February 2022, humanitarian needs have been increasing by the hour. Millions of people across Ukraine are fighting for their lives. As of 6th April 2022, around 11.4 million people have been forcibly displaced, with 7.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and nearly 4.3 million who have fled the country, seeking a safe haven in neighbouring countries. The majority of displaced people and refugees are women and children. The EU must put SRHR and protection from sexual and gender-based violence at the heart of its response to the crisis, in order to respond to the SRHR needs of Ukrainian people, especially of all women, girls and vulnerable and marginalized populations fleeing the war, whether they are in third countries or in EU Member States. Our brief includes recommendations that the EU can adopt within external and internal action in order to deliver on the sexual and reproductive health and rights of refugees and displaced persons. Credit photo: Fine Acts

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine on 24th February 2022, humanitarian needs have been increasing by the hour. Millions of people across Ukraine are fighting for their lives. Anyone who has been forced to flee or who lives in an area of active fighting is particularly vulnerable, even more so women and girls. People’s access to health services may be suspended or the quality may be low, and they will not have access to lifesaving reproductive health care. They are in a dire state of emergency and further exposed to risk of sexual violence, sexually transmitted infections including HIV and unintended pregnancies. Amid the terrifying devastation experienced through a humanitarian crisis, people need first and foremost safety and protection. Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services can save lives and prevent further suffering. Read below about the urgent actions to be taken by European humanitarian donors and actors.

The period 2020-2021 was one of the most challenging in recent memory. COVID-19’s fierce sweep across the world has been demanding a bold response that simultaneously safeguards the health, social and economic gains achieved to date. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the critical global challenges that cannot be tackled in silos by individual countries. Foreseeing the severe effects of the pandemic in developing contexts, movements have been calling for international solidarity and equality, including the centrality of SRHR therein. European governments have been responding to, joining and even leading these calls. This report analyses 2020 funding data and 2021 political stances adopted by twelve European governments and the EU institutions. As such, it assesses changes in SRH/FP funding pre- and post-pandemic for those specific donors and for the period at stake only - with other possible trends being observable only in the longer run. It also assesses, for the first time, European support to the broader SRHR agenda. This report shows that, instead of plunging contributions to SRH/FP in their international cooperation, European governments have in fact increased support in 2020: data collected indicates donors contributed 2.614 billion Euros to SRHR, this includes 1.447 billion Euros disbursed to SRH/FP, reaching a new maximum. 12 out of the 13 European donors under review either increased or maintained funding compared to the previous year. But even though official development assistance (ODA) has not fallen so far, it is important that European governments maintain and scale up their commitments. European donors continue to be vocal about the importance of SRHR in international development.  2021 introduced another ground-breaking platform to reinstate support to the SRHR agenda: the Generation Equality Forum, which aimed to advance the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. European donors pledged new support to SRHR in that context, but it remains to be seen how central this agenda will remain in development budgets.   For more detailed data and analysis, read the full report ‘European Donor Support to Sexual & Reproductive Health & Family Planning – With a Spotlight on SRHR. Trends Analysis 2020-21’  Read our factsheet summarizing the findings of the report.  Read the country and EU factsheets. The data can also be further explored on the online data dashboard here.

When vulnerable communities, volunteers and professionals unite for reproductive freedom, they are a powerful force for change. Our short film features five stories that show how IPPF members in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia are supporting the lifelong reproductive health and safety of Roma girls, women and young people, working on the multiple fronts necessary to improve access and uptake of quality family planning and maternal health care. Learn more about the My Body, My Rights project here.