In Somalia, Ipas and partners create a roadmap to transform reproductive health

Carolyne Okallo, Youth and Communications Advisor, Ipas Africa Alliance
May 9, 2025

In March 2025, a broad spectrum of key stakeholders gathered in Mogadishu, Somalia, to discuss how to build a sustainable ecosystem for maternal and reproductive health care. A strategic roadmap emerged from the multi-day event, along with a shared commitment by stakeholders to implement the plan and transform the country’s maternal and reproductive health landscape.

Overlapping climate crises and armed conflicts in Somalia have resulted in a high percentage of women and girls with urgent reproductive health needs. Within this context, Somalia’s Federal Ministry of Health hosted this groundbreaking dialogue, which was facilitated by Ipas Africa Alliance and the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Attendees included government leaders, UN agencies, international and local NGOs, hospitals, academic institutions and media partners.

Continued: https://www.ipas.org/news/in-somalia-ipas-and-partners-create-a-roadmap-to-transform-reproductive-health/

09.05.2025

Commentary

Carolyne Okallo

Dr. Abdulkadir Wehliye

Dr. JE Musoba Kitui

International Rescue Committee

Resist and Persist: How Ipas will meet the changing global health landscape

April 2025

For 52 years, Ipas has supported communities around the world to ensure access to abortion and contraception for all. We have a deep history and experience working on abortion in places in the world with very restrictive laws, and with health systems that face critical challenges. Ipas has survived extraordinary challenges in the past, and our mission, persistence, and expertise are more critical than ever in the current moment.

The United States’ drastic dismantling of its $79.5 billion foreign aid program has significantly impacted development and humanitarian sectors and created chaos around the globe. Health systems have been crippled, and countless lives and livelihoods have been disrupted. This is a moment of inflection in the global health and development community.

Continued: https://www.ipas.org/our-work/resist-and-persist-how-ipas-will-meet-the-changing-global-health-landscape/

Ethiopia pilot program shows private pharmacies can safely provide abortion with pills

April 10, 2025
Ipas - Published in Frontiers in Global Women’s Health

A pilot program by Ipas, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, and the Oromia Health Bureau proved that private pharmacies can safely expand access to abortion with pills—making essential care more available and closer to home for women in Ethiopia.

Between December 2021 and March 2023, the program trained and supported 41 private pharmacies to offer abortion with pills and related counseling—to users both with and without prescriptions. To understand how well the model worked, implementers tracked client experiences through pharmacy records and follow-up phone calls 21 days after care.

Continued: https://www.ipas.org/news/ethiopia-pilot-program-shows-private-pharmacies-can-safely-provide-abortion-with-pills/

10.04.2025

Research

abortion pill prescriptions

abortion pills

Ethiopian Ministry of Health

Frontiers in Women's Health

More people in India are choosing self-managed abortion with pills—and it’s safe

The transformative terrain: An in-depth analysis of trends in self-managed abortion in India using NFHS-5 national data

Ipas
March 19, 2025

Conducted by researchers from Ipas Development Foundation and partners, this study examines national survey data to understand the growing use of self-managed abortion (SMA) in India. The research confirms that SMA—using abortion pills outside of a clinic—has become much more common and is a safe and effective option, especially in early pregnancy.

Main takeaway : More people in India are ending their pregnancies with abortion pills on their own, without seeing a doctor in person. The study found that self-managed abortion nearly doubled between 2014 and 2021, with no increase in reported health complications. This suggests that SMA can be a safe and effective way to access abortion—especially in early pregnancy and when people have the right information and access to quality medication. However, provider-assisted care is still critical, particularly for those who need abortion later in pregnancy. As India’s abortion law now allows abortion up to 24 weeks, it’s more important than ever to expand access to trained providers for those who need them.

Continued: https://www.ipas.org/news/more-people-in-india-are-choosing-self-managed-abortion-with-pills-and-its-safe/

19.03.2025

Research

Ipas

Ipas Development Foundation

self-managed abortion

These 7 changemakers are advancing reproductive justice despite tremendous challenges

March 7, 2025
Ipas

The fight for reproductive justice is facing especially hard times, and the path ahead will not be easy. But the truth is that we’ve already made incredible progress, and we know how to keep moving forward.

In the past 30 years, 60 countries have changed their abortion laws—and only four decreased access. We at Ipas worked in many of those countries that expanded abortion rights. We saw firsthand that the fight is never easy—and never over. Behind historic gains like abortion law change, health centers that offer high-quality abortion care, and communities that support every person’s bodily autonomy are years of hard work, resistance, persistence and advocates who continue, step by step, toward their goal—no matter what.

Continued: https://www.ipas.org/news/7-changemakers-advancing-reproductive-justice/

DRC – Dr. Jean-Claude Mulunda: Breaking the silence on the need for safe abortion care in humanitarian settings

IPAS
Feb 28, 2025

Early in his career, Ipas Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) director Dr. Jean-Claude Mulunda, then a coordinator with a refugee agency, was confronted with the plight of women and girls who had suffered sexual violence fleeing Central African Republic for refuge in DRC.

“In my report to the supervisor, I noted that over 60% of the women and girls were rape victims. Many of them, including little girls who could not be more than 12, were pregnant. They were also dealing with sexually transmitted infections and malnutrition,” he explains.

Continued; https://www.ipas.org/news/drc-safe-abortion-care-in-humanitarian-settings/

‘Nepal advances in SRHR but needs more investment’

By Samiksha Shrestha
January 29, 2025

Dr. Anu Kumar, president and CEO of Ipas, an international NGO advancing reproductive justice, visited Nepal last week. Ipas Nepal focuses on improving sexual and reproductive health and rights for women and adolescents through access to safe abortion, contraception and gender-based violence prevention. An internationally recognized advocate for women’s rights, Dr. Kumar holds advanced degrees in public health and anthropology. During her visit, she met with government officials and members of the diplomatic community to discuss Nepal’s health system, which receives only 4.6% of the national budget—far below the WHO-recommended 10%. Republica’s Correspondent, Samiksha Shrestha, interviewed Dr. Kumar, covering issues surrounding sexual and reproductive health in Nepal. Excerpts:

Continued: https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/amp/news/nepal-advances-in-srhr-but-needs-more-investment-79-56.html

29.01.2025

Sierra Leone is on the brink of legalising abortion. We must not allow the US far right to infiltrate and stop us

Religious extremists from the US are bolstering local opposition by pouring money and messaging into the country under the guise of supporting ‘family values’

Dr Ramatu Bangura
Sat 25 Jan 2025

Sierra Leone is on the precipice of making history in its parliament this week. A new bill being debated would see a deadly centuries-old British colonial law abolished and monumental strides made to protect the safety of women and girls.

For a country where sky-high maternal deaths are a national emergency, the safe motherhood and reproductive health care bill is a lifeline. The new legislation would decriminalise abortion and provide that any girl or woman, regardless of economic status, can seek the reproductive care needed from a qualified medical professional – whether that involves the decision to conceive, to access contraception or to make the difficult decision to terminate a pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jan/25/sierra-leone-is-on-the-brink-of-legalising-abortion-we-must-not-allow-the-us-far-right-to-infiltrate-and-stop-us

What to expect from Trump 2.0: The anti-rights brigade are now in power

We're hurtling into a dark period for abortion rights and beyond. Get out your flashlights

Dr Anu Kumar
20 January 2025

With Trump 2.0, the US enters a new era – one where people’s rights, particularly those of women and girls, LGBTQIA+ people, Black or brown people, or immigrants, are ignored, or worse, violated. Climate change is not a concern. Disinformation is rampant. Reproductive freedom, particularly the access to abortion, is radically curtailed, despite broad voter support.

Most of us are familiar with (and frankly, are already experiencing) the Project 2025 playbook, which calls for dismantling democratic norms in the US, unitary executive power, harsh Christian nationalism, a punitive approach to foreign assistance and multilateralism, and violations of human rights. We're hurtling into a dark period. Get out your flashlights.

Continued: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/trump-project-2025-abortion-rights-inauguration/

Empowering Women: Ethiopia’s drive to tackle unintended pregnancies, expand reproductive care

By Abraham Tekle
January 18, 2025

In a significant step toward improving women’s health and rights, Independent Physicians Associations (Ipas) has launched a groundbreaking seven-year project aimed at expanding access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services for millions of women and girls in underserved communities.

The initiative, announced on January 14, by Ipas Ethiopia, is titled “Improving Access to Reproductive Health Information and Services to the Communities in Five Regions of Ethiopia.” It will focus on reaching over six million people across the Amhara, Central Ethiopia, Oromia, Tigray, and Benishangul Gumuz regions.

Continued: https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/43354/

18.01.2025