Abortion Access for All

First, thank you for your commitment to reproductive rights and access to abortion and contraceptive care around the globe. We are grateful to have you on our team as we work to ensure all women and girls can choose their own futures. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, Ipas pivoted quickly to adapt to a new and changing reality, and your support through GlobalGiving has helped us adapt and innovate widely across our programs. Below, you will find some programmatic updates, as well as some exciting new opportunities for long-term change.

Abortion must remain an essential health service, and the need for abortion and contraception has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ipas is diligently working with our partners and country teams to ensure that abortion access during the pandemic and beyond is protected and expanded, despite the obstacles. We are building telehealth solutions and expanding access to abortion with pills, providing education on sexual and reproductive health, and giving abortion providers the information, training and supplies they need to successfully, and safely, provide these essential services to women and girls.

Telehealth Services and Accessible Online Information

In Kenya and Democratic Republic of Congo, Ipas developed “Nurse Nisa,” one of the first artificial intelligence abortion providers. Supported through WhatsApp, the chatbot recently launched to support women with abortion and contraception referrals. In Pakistan, Ipas and our partners are training health professionals to provide telehealth consultations to women and girls who want contraception or an abortion with pills. In addition, Ipas has trained community “lady health workers” to share that these consultations are free of charge. In Central America and Mexico, our team created two videos about how to safely use abortion pills and shared them on YouTube. They have now been viewed almost 2 million times combined.

Youth Education Innovations

In Malawi, Ipas-trained youth educators on sexual and reproductive health and rights are meeting with local community leaders, helping them understand how to prevent unintended pregnancies in their communities and how to protect reproductive health services during the pandemic. In collaboration with Bolivia’s government, Ipas produced resource kits for teachers focused on preventing sexual violence and unwanted pregnancy. These kits include video, comics, brochures, and teachers’ guides. A nationwide teacher training in collaboration with Ipas will roll out the new material in all public schools in Bolivia. In Indonesia, Ipas partnered with an acclaimed filmmaker and youth-focused nonprofit organization to produce a short “coming of age” film highlighting the complexities of teenage pregnancy. The government in Indonesia has selected the film to be part of a mandatory online learning program for junior and high school students nationwide.

Giving Health Providers What They Need

In Kenya’s crowded Kakuma Camp, social distancing is impossible. Home to 190,000 refugees, the camp was in dire need of personal protective equipment (PPE). The refugee-led organization Resilience Action International (RAI) partnered with Ipas to make masks available for health clinics in the camp, as well as for the refugees themselves. In Nepal, Ipas supports the government’s COVID-19 response by distributing PPE to health centers, mostly focusing on remote and isolated districts with acute needs. We have also distributed PPE directly to Female Community Health Volunteers, who connect women with health information and referrals.

History in the Making: A Call to Repeal the Helms Amendment

In January 2021, President Biden rescinded the Global Gag Rule. But the Global Gag rule is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to harmful U.S. foreign policies. For 48 years now, the Helms Amendment has been denying people access to abortion services around the world. Ipas, for almost as long, has been a leading voice in the call to repeal the policy. This year, Ipas is working with a coalition of partners to advance the Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act, which would permanently repeal the Helms Amendment. The bill was first introduced to the U.S. Congress in July 2020, with more than 100 U.S. representatives signed on as cosponsors. This March, in conjunction with International Women’s Day, the bill was reintroduced to the U.S. House of Representatives by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and six other sexual and reproductive health and rights champions. We have plans to introduce the bill for the first time ever to the U.S. Senate this summer.

Thank you!

Access to abortion and contraception puts people in control of their reproductive health. Your contributions to Ipas give women and girls everywhere the opportunity to determine if and when to have a family, and in turn give them control over their own futures.

The pandemic has changed us all, both personally and in the ways we work to ensure reproductive justice. Despite the challenges, Ipas is inspired and hopeful for the future. We’ll continue to work to integrate abortion rights into the broader movements for health-care access, gender equity, and reproductive justice—and we are grateful for your partnership!

Links:

• Repeal Helms Updates