Resources

For 70 years IPPF has championed and delivered quality services, comprehensive information and advocated for just laws so that more people in more places under more circumstances may realize their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Started with an act of international solidarity between activists from just a handful of countries, IPPF has since grown into a broad and diverse community of services providers and advocates that stretches around the Earth. Our very existence manifests just how the demand for dignity in sexual and reproductive health and rights is universal to people the world over. But that world is changing rapidly. Tough challenges must be confronted – the toxic legacies of longstanding racism, sexism and homophobia, for example; the deepening impacts of the climate crisis, violence, and inequalities; the escalating consequences of new technologies, population displacements, and habitat destruction. Wherever such dynamics impact people’s lives, IPPF knows enjoyment of SRHR is impacted too. Whenever people confront humanitarian crises, we know their SRHR are thrust into crisis too. Whoever is subject to prejudice, bigotry, or exclusion, has their access to SRHR also eroded. We know that the worst consequences of those injustices are borne by young people in the poorest of communities, in the toughest of places, facing the fewest opportunities. To be impactful in a world of change, IPPF must change too. That is what Strategy 2028 is all about: changing IPPF so it is well equipped to uphold SRHR for those who are left out, locked out or left behind. Our Strategy 2028 sets out a familiar path but in a new direction over far tougher terrain to that clear destination. We will walk that path shoulder to shoulder with young people, and with individuals and communities bearing the full brunt of stigma and prejudice. At each step, we will defend, protect, and celebrate safety, pleasure and wellbeing in sex and reproduction. At every turn, we will denounce powers and authorities who, through policy, practice, and law, undermine dignity and human rights in those intimate realms. And, as IPPF, we will be accountable for who we are, what we do and how we do it. That is our Strategy 2028. It is with immense pride that the IPPF Board of Trustees shares this strategic itinerary with you. We very much hope you will travel this road with us – in your own realities, communities, and contexts. Let’s do that together. Let’s come together, for sexual and reproductive dignity for all - for each and every one of us, to the exclusion of none of us, in the interests of all of us. Kate Gilmore, Chair, BoT, IPPF

Over the last few years, the EU has been facing many challenges in the realization of its core values: the rule of law, democracy, human rights, equality, especially gender equality, and women’s rights. The upcoming years are an opportunity for the EU to reflect on the direction it wants to take, the values it should stand for, and what more it can do to uphold and defend them. The EU should strive towards a world where everyone can enjoy the same rights, and lead free and safe private and family lives, free from sexism, coercion, and violence. In this crossroads moment, the upcoming three Council of the EU Presidencies – Sweden, Spain, and Belgium – have a critical role to play to uphold EU values. We call on them to adopt a feminist approach and show stronger leadership to further advance gender equality and women’s rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), in the EU and beyond. Read below our recommendations to the next Presidencies to lead the EU on a feminist path.

For 70 years IPPF has championed and delivered quality services, comprehensive information and advocated for just laws so that more people in more places under more circumstances may realize their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Started with an act of international solidarity between activists from just a handful of countries, IPPF has since grown into a broad and diverse community of services providers and advocates that stretches around the Earth. Our very existence manifests just how the demand for dignity in sexual and reproductive health and rights is universal to people the world over. But that world is changing rapidly. Tough challenges must be confronted – the toxic legacies of longstanding racism, sexism and homophobia, for example; the deepening impacts of the climate crisis, violence, and inequalities; the escalating consequences of new technologies, population displacements, and habitat destruction. Wherever such dynamics impact people’s lives, IPPF knows enjoyment of SRHR is impacted too. Whenever people confront humanitarian crises, we know their SRHR are thrust into crisis too. Whoever is subject to prejudice, bigotry, or exclusion, has their access to SRHR also eroded. We know that the worst consequences of those injustices are borne by young people in the poorest of communities, in the toughest of places, facing the fewest opportunities. To be impactful in a world of change, IPPF must change too. That is what Strategy 2028 is all about: changing IPPF so it is well equipped to uphold SRHR for those who are left out, locked out or left behind. Our Strategy 2028 sets out a familiar path but in a new direction over far tougher terrain to that clear destination. We will walk that path shoulder to shoulder with young people, and with individuals and communities bearing the full brunt of stigma and prejudice. At each step, we will defend, protect, and celebrate safety, pleasure and wellbeing in sex and reproduction. At every turn, we will denounce powers and authorities who, through policy, practice, and law, undermine dignity and human rights in those intimate realms. And, as IPPF, we will be accountable for who we are, what we do and how we do it. That is our Strategy 2028. It is with immense pride that the IPPF Board of Trustees shares this strategic itinerary with you. We very much hope you will travel this road with us – in your own realities, communities, and contexts. Let’s do that together. Let’s come together, for sexual and reproductive dignity for all - for each and every one of us, to the exclusion of none of us, in the interests of all of us. Kate Gilmore, Chair, BoT, IPPF

This new toolkit aims to support young people in Eastern Europe and Central Asia who are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection and are facing widespread stigma, discrimination and violence. “Health, rights and well-being” is a practical guide for programming on HIV and sexual and reproductive health care with young key populations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, available in both English and Russian. It was developed on the basis of discussions in eight countries with young people from groups that are most at risk of HIV infection: sex workers, drug users, men who have sex with men and prisoners. The toolkit describes the situations they face, policy and legal contexts, and includes examples of good practice and tips for implementing successful programmes from the young people themselves. We believe that it provides very practical support to all those working to ensure that the rights of these young people are met, that discrimination is stopped, and that they can fulfil their potential. The guide is designed for public health care professionals, health workers, managers of HIV and SRHR programmes and NGOs, including community groups. We hope that it will also be of interest for international funding organisations as well as advocates and decision-makers.  

This article was written in September 2017. Since then, thanks to the work of NGOs including our member HERA, Macedonia’s government has committed to providing long-term funding for all HIV programmes for marginalised people. Although HIV prevalence is low in Macedonia, with only 151 people registered as living with HIV, these small numbers mask a complex picture, and one that is rapidly changing. In 2016, there were 40 new HIV diagnoses, the majority of them among men who have sex with men.  Macedonia is not alone in facing a rise in HIV cases. In many parts of Central and Eastern Europe, the rate of new infections is growing. Between 2010 and 2015, the region saw a 50 per cent rise in new HIV infections annually. Another looming problem that threatens to send Macedonian HIV rates spiralling upwards is a funding crisis precipitated by donor cutbacks and political uncertainty. Between 2004 and 2016, Macedonian HIV programmes received almost $25 million from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Much of this money was channelled into HIV prevention, funding NGOs that target those deemed most vulnerable to infection – sex workers, people who inject drugs, men who have sex with men and prisoners. But in 2016 this funding was phased out and NGOs on the frontline are left hoping that the new government will deliver fully on a recent commitment to step in with similar levels of funding in 2018. In the chasm left by the country’s public healthcare system, Macedonia’s sexual health and rights NGOs work tirelessly to plug the gap, often on a shoestring and in an increasingly uncertain funding landscape. HERA, IPPF's member in Macedonia, is a leading NGO providing free HIV testing services, sexual health support and advocacy. It works closely with smaller organisations around the country to ensure support for young people, sex workers, people who inject drugs and men who have sex with men. These NGOs are many people’s first port of call for HIV tests and other vital health care.  

Our member SRH Serbia (the Serbian Association for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights) decided to challenge gender stereotypes in Serbian society through the act of theatre-based workshops, in partnership with IPAK Center. In a country where social issues like gender are rarely a serious part of public debate, boys and girls taking part literally walk in one another's shoes to help challenge and dismantle 'gender roles'. As SRH Serbia's Dragana Stojanović says, "gender roles are merely roles that we are playing all our lives, and this is why playing them on the stage makes perfect sense." The project was funded by IPPF's Innovation Fund.