Gender equality is a human right. It is also essential for eradicating poverty and improving the lives of future generations. Gender equality is at the heart of all our programming and advocacy work. IPPF pushes for legal and policy reforms which combat female genital mutilation (FGM), early forced marriage and other forms of gender discrimination.
Articles by Gender equality
Japan Trust Fund
The Japan Trust Fund (JTF) represents a visionary partnership that began in 2000 between the Government of Japan and IPPF. Together, we invest in programmes that prioritize health equity, gender equality, and human security for all. Traditionally a driving force behind IPPF's efforts to support the integrated HIV prevention programmes of our Member Associations in Africa and Asia, JTF has adjusted to reflect changing global health priorities. We attach importance to universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights - an essential contributor to universal health coverage and the global development goals. These projects have transformed the lives of people most vulnerable to HIV and high risk of maternal and child mortality. Equally, it ensures that as a donor, the GOJ’s response to HIV remains people-centred and contributes to human security.
Evidence Project
Under the Evidence project, IPPF is undertaking innovative research on respecting, protecting and promoting human rights in family planning/reproductive health services and ensuring community voices are part of efforts to improve and strengthen family planning programming. The Evidence Project uses implementation science to improve family planning policies, programs, and practices. Led by the Population Council in partnership with INDEPTH Network, International Planned Parenthood Federation, PATH, Population Reference Bureau, and the project’s University Resource Network, the five-year project (2013–2018) is investigating which strategies work best in improving, expanding, and sustaining family planning services. IPPF is leading on two cross-cutting areas of research. Firstly under the Evidence project, we are undertaking research on how the respect and protection of human rights of women and girls can be instituted and operationalised, and how programs can be held accountable for providing high-quality services. http://evidenceproject.popcouncil.org/technical-areas-and-activities/equity-rights-and-accountability. In order to address the need for indicators and tools for rights based family planning, the Evidence Project has partnered with global experts on human rights and family planning, the International Planned Parenthood Federation’s Sustainable Network Project (SIFPO/IPPF) and with colleagues at Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) to develop and validate the Rights-Based Family Planning (RBFP) Service Delivery Index in Uganda. This is work is being undertaken in close collaboration with the Economic Policy Research Centre Uganda and University College London. In addition, we are undertaking a variety of activities that aim to contribute to a deeper knowledge of whether and how the implementation of accountability mechanisms in family planning and reproductive health programs improves clients’ access to and quality of services. For example, a multi-site case study in Uganda uses process evaluation methodology to explore the implementation of two social accountability programs, aiming to determine what hinders and facilitates engagement at the community level and its translation into improved social accountability processes and reproductive health outcomes. http://evidenceproject.popcouncil.org/accountability-mechanisms-to-improve-family-planning-and-reproductive-health-programs/
Girls Decide
This programme addresses critical challenges faced by young women around sexual health and sexuality. It has produced a range of advocacy, education and informational materials to support research, awareness-raising, advocacy and service delivery. Girls Decide is about the sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women. Around the world, girls aged 10 to 19 account for 23% of all disease associated with pregnancy and childbirth. An estimated 2.5 million have unsafe abortions every year. Worldwide, young women account for 60% of the 5.5 million young people living with HIV and/or AIDS. Girls Decide has produced a range of advocacy, education and informational materials to support work to improve sexual health and rights for girls and young women. These include a series of films on sexual and reproductive health decisions faced by 6 young women in 6 different countries. The films won the prestigious International Video and Communications Award (IVCA). When girls and young women have access to critical lifesaving services and information, and when they are able to make meaningful choices about their life path, they are empowered. Their quality of life improves, as does the well-being of their families and the communities in which they live. Their collective ability to achieve internationally agreed development goals is strengthened. Almost all IPPF Member Associations provide services to young people and 1 in every 3 clients is a young person below the age of 25. All young women and girls are rights-holders and are entitled to sexual and reproductive rights. As a matter of principle, the IPPF Secretariat and Member Associations stand by girls by respecting and fulfilling their right to high quality services; they stand up for girls by supporting them in making their own decisions related to sexuality and pregnancy; they stand for sexual and reproductive rights by addressing the challenges faced by young women and girls at local, national and international levels.
ACT!2030
IPPF collaborates with UNAIDS and The PACT to implement ACT!2030 (formerly ACT!2015), a youth-led social action initiative which engages young people in 12 countries with advocacy and accountability around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other SRHR agreements/frameworks. ACT!2030 was initiated in 2013 as a way to increase youth participation in the negotiations leading up to the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda, and for two years focused on establishing alliances of youth-led and youth-serving organisations in 12 countries across the world. The project is currently in Phase 4, which runs until the end of 2017, and aims to establish youth-led, data-driven accountability mechanisms to ensure youth engagement with the implementation of the SDGs and build an evidence base for advocacy. Ultimately, Phase 4 of ACT!2030 seeks to identify, assess and address key policy barriers to young people’s sexual and reproductive data by using existing data, supplemented by youth-collected data, to advocate and lobby for policy change. This phase involves four main activities: indicator advocacy (persuading decision makers to adopt youth-friendly SRHR and HIV indicators, including on things like comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) and access to youth-friendly services, into national/global reporting mechanisms); evidence gathering (creating national databases on quality of and access to youth-friendly services and CSE); communications (transforming this data and evidence into communications pieces that can be used to advocacy and lobby at national and international level); and global exchange (facilitating global visibility to share advocacy and engagement learnings and increase youth-led accountability in global and regional processes). ACT!2030 is implemented by national alliances of youth organisations in 12 countries: Algeria, Bulgaria, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
What price for a world free from Female Genital Mutilation?
By Marie-Evelyne Patrus-Barry and Anush Aghabalyan COVID-19 continues to disrupt the delivery of essential health services in 90% of countries globally. The Orchid Project, a UK charity working globally to end to female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), further substantiated that soon after the implementation of lockdown measures, reports emerged confirming that the rates of FGM/C were on the rise. While prevention efforts were on track to avert 46.5 million cases of FGM, experts are now predicting that the delays being caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will reduce anticipated progress toward ending FGM by 33%. According to a joint report by UNICEF and UNFPA, an estimated 2 million additional girls are at risk of being cut over the next decade, bringing the total number of girls at risk to 70 million by 2030. These horrific figures are simply unacceptable. Before COVID-19 slowed down progress in eliminating FGM/C, the Sustainable Development Goals target 5.3.2 to end female genital cutting by 2030 was already an ambitious commitment. Rhetoric was simply not matched with financial commitments, and this was only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Only $95 is required to avert one single case of FGM/C and to protect a girls' right to health, to bodily integrity, to freedom from violence and to enjoy her sexuality. A relatively small price to pay which pales in comparison with global spending on increasing militarisation (almost $2 trillion per year) and growth based on exploitation of natural resources. By investing $2.4 billion by 2030 we could end FGM/C all together in 31 priority countries. Yet only $275 million is available - or just $4 per girl at risk - leaving a funding gap of >$2.1 billion. Girls and women who have undergone FGM/C live predominately in sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab States, but FGM is also practiced in select countries in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. Only two countries in Asia currently report national data on FGM/C prevalence. This includes Indonesia, where 15 million girls alone will undergo the practice by 2030. The true scale of women and girls affected by FGM/C in the remaining 11 countries across the region where the practice takes place remains unknown. In Africa, more girls are cut between 0 and 14 years of age than any other age bracket. Prevalence rates range from 15% to over 95% of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years, with select countries in the Central and Western Africa regions accounting for a large part of the figures. Investing in girls and women is a central part of the recently adopted African Union Strategy for Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment as well as Africa’s Transformative Agenda 2063, which, under Aspiration 6, calls for ending all forms of gender based violence, including FGM/C. IPPFAR, through its Sub Office at the African Union, advocates and galvanises political action to accelerate the elimination of FGM/C on the continent. Furthermore, through awareness and communications campaigns, advocacy, and sensitisation, IPPFAR Member Associations are working to prevent the cutting of more than 50 million girls in Africa under the age of 15 years at risk of being subjected to FGM/C by 2030 if concerted action is not taken now. For example, from 2009 to 2020, IPPF Member Associations in Sudan, Mauritania, Somaliland and Djibouti have sensitized and trained over 500 service providers about FGM/C to support clients affected by FGM/C, over 25,000 school and university students and over 200 decision makers. Similarly, between 2015 and 2019, Orchid Project brought together local grassroots organisations through Knowledge Sharing Workshops; 12 workshops across Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Somaliland and Sierra Leone were held. In Kenya, through engagement in a consortium programme with the Coalition on Violence Against Women (COVAW), S.A.F.E. Kenya and their SAFE Maa and SAFE Samburu teams, Orchid also aims to accelerate an end to the practice within the Maasai and Samburu communities in Kenya. On this Zero Tolerance Day, Orchid Project, supported by the International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa Region (IPPFAR) and other partners, have launched a global call for increased funding to step-up efforts to eliminate this extremely harmful practice by 2030. Through the “What’s the Gap” campaign, grassroots organisations are raising their collective voice to urge governments, foundations, private sector, and other potential donors to urgently increase funding to the FGM/C sector. It is essential for investment to come from different sources - from multilateral donors, philanthropy, and the private sector, in addition to domestic resources committed by national Governments. The campaign also highlights that local community organisations and civil-society groups know best where and what to do, to put an end to FGM/C in communities where incidents are more prevalent. Thus, the increased funding would help inform and train key stakeholders, commission research, facilitate more workshops to raise awareness of men and boys, create safe spaces for young survivors and provide alternative occupations and training for cutters. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, restricting girls’ access to school and limiting access to sexual and reproductive health services, there is great urgency for global investment in ending the harmful practice of FGM/C if we are to reach zero incidences by 2030. Let’s all fight together and commit to closing the funding gap! Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry is the Regional Director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa Region (IPPFAR); Anush Aghabalyan is the Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Orchid Project. —-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commemorated every year on 6 February, the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation aims to amplify and direct efforts on the elimination of the harmful practice. This year’s theme is: Accelerating Investment to End Female Genital Mutilation — investing in programmes to provide services and response for those affected and those at risk and in developing and enforcing laws and fortifying institutional capacity to address eradicating female genital mutilation.
Mes Droits, Ma Sante, Mon Avenir -3M
The project seeks to contribute to the reduction of gender inequalities through the empowerment of youth and the technical strengthening of local feminist CSOs towards the transformation of gender norms in favour of the sexual rights of adolescents and youth. Budget: 899,996 EUR Donor: Fonds de Solidarité pour les Projets Innovants (FSPi) Timeline: 2 Years (April 2021 – March 2023) Project implementation areas: Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso Partners: Association Nigérienne pour le Bien Êtr e Familial (ANBEF), Association Burkinabè pour le Bien Être Familial (ABBEF), Association Tchadienne pour le Bien Être Familial (ASTBEF) and Association Togolaise pour le Bien Être Familial (ATBEF) Key achievements to date: 3 Member Association (MA) supported through MA-to-MA support from ATBEF, More than 600 trainers of trainees trained in Gender and SRH, 100 Youth and feminist associations strengthened in local communities, The organisation of more than 200 community talks on SRHR and gender equality, supported by approaches and channels adapted to the beneficiaries, made it possible to reach 2,299 people, including 1,374 girls and 925 adolescent boys and young people, on unwanted pregnancies, family planning, STIs, HIV/AIDS and contraception. Innovative approaches: This project uses the MA-to-MA Approach, south-south collaboration & Peer to Peer support where ATBEF is supporting the 3 implementing MAs. Active collaboration with Youth and feminist associations at grassroot level. Lessons learned: Public and private collaboration is critical as well as the need to document best practices. The involvement of the central level (Ministries) in the implementation of the project positively influences the operational levels and strengthens their commitment to the project activities and makes them feel more accountable. Also, collaboration with the health, education and gender departments has enabled the project teams to benefit from technical support for access to pupils, teachers, and parents, to have an orientation on current policies in relation to the projects, and to be accompanied in the training.
“Let’s talk about sex baby”: Responding to the Needs of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Africa in the Digital Age
In todays’ digital world, everything is available online. Information, products, and services. 22% of the African population, can access the world at the click of a button and mobile penetration rate in Sub-Saharan Africa is at 44%. The African Union and the World Bank Group have committed to connecting every African individual, business, and government by 2030. 60% of Africa’s population is <25 years. The young Africans can be seen on the streets of Nairobi, Accra, and Johannesburg, swiping left and right, using this readily available digital technology for entertainment, education, and learning. Often, and unsurprisingly, this pursuit for knowledge is centered around sex. This phenomenon has though had a less impressive impact on African girls and young women, who continue to be trapped by taboos and restrictive gender and social norms, unable to access accurate sexual and reproductive health and rights information online. The Mobile Gender Gap means only two out of three women in Africa own a mobile phone, and only a third use mobile data regularly. Retrogressive cultural practices and patriarchal norms though are endemic including early marriage, female genital cutting, sexual cleansing, and wife inheritance, exposing them to innumerable risks. STIs, HIV, gender-based sexual violence and teenage pregnancies are commonplace; and complications from pregnancy and childbirth complications remain the leading cause of death among girls aged 15–19 years globally. Today, as we commemorate the International Day of the Girl Child centered on the ‘Digital Generation’ we want to call attention to the rights’ of the girl child and the unique challenges they face globally. IPPFs Youth Action Movement, a peer-led advocacy platform for young people aged 10-24 years, is showing us how the growing technological space is slowly permitting adolescent girls and young women to access digital devices and seek information about their bodies, menstruation, pregnancy prevention, peer pressure, love, pleasure, relationships, contraception and safe abortion. This became more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated the vulnerabilities of girls and women. In Nigeria, the Planned Parenthood of Nigeria – began delivering sexual reproductive health services using several digital and online platforms including: Short Message Service (SMS), Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, Zoom and direct telephone calls. These platforms offered accurate, live interactive information and educational sessions, one-to-one consultations and respective referrals. Young people are additionally reached through the Youth Connect website (https://youthconnect.ppfn.org) and ‘The PPFN e-Health App’ which were both co-designed by young people. In Benin, the Association Béninoise pour la Promotion de la Famille introduced online comprehensive sexuality educations sessions, in response to school closures, based on the IPPF’s Framework for CSE: gender, sexual and reproductive health and HIV, sexual rights and sexual citizenship, pleasure, violence, diversity and relationships. In Togo, the Association Togolaise pour le Bien-Etre Familial launched ‘InfoAdoJeunes’, a multi-functional app that was developed for and by young people, providing critical information about sexual and reproductive health in a fun and engaging manner. The 8 navigation tabs: sexuality education, the menstrual cycle, teleconsultation, web TV, games and quizzes, a chat forum, contraception, and a tab where users can ask an experts questions in real-time. These initiatives are proving to be very successful, and feedback, in particular from the young women and girls, has been very positive! Quick, timely, private, online access to information and consultations around sexual health is fun, convenient, non-judgemental and protects their privacy. A win-win all around! We echo UNFPA: To secure an equal future, girls need equal access to digital tools and information. This is why, on this international day of the Girl Child, IPPF’s renews its commitment and call on governments and support to invest in digital technology to ensure adolescents and young girls in Africa can easily access high-quality, accurate information around their sexual and reproductive health and are empowered to make informed decisions about their bodies and their futures. Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry is the Regional Director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Africa Region (IPPFAR) and Monica Mwai is a Youth Intern within the Communications Team. By Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry and Monica Mwai The International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa Region (IPPFAR) is one of the leading providers of quality sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services in Africa and a sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) advocacy voice in the region. For more updates on our work, follow IPPF Africa Region on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and You Tube.
"Let’s talk about sex baby!": Répondre aux besoins des adolescentes et des jeunes femmes en Afrique à l'ère du numérique
Dans le monde numérique d'aujourd'hui, tout est disponible en ligne: les informations, les produits et les services. Avec un taux de pénétration de la téléphonie mobile en Afrique sub-saharienne de 44%, 22% de la population africaine accède dorénavant au monde entier en cliquant simplement sur un bouton. De plus, l'Union africaine et le Groupe de la Banque mondiale se sont engagés à connecter chaque individu, entreprise et gouvernement africain d'ici 2030. Et alors que 60% de la population africaine est âgée de moins de 25 ans, on peut voir cette jeunesse africaine dans les rues de Nairobi, Accra ou Johannesburg, tapoter frénétiquement sur leurs smartphones, utilisant cette technologie numérique, facilement accessible, pour se divertir et s'instruire. Souvent, et sans surprise, cette quête de connaissances est centrée sur le sexe. Ce phénomène a cependant eu un impact moins important sur les filles et les jeunes femmes africaines, qui restent prisonnières de tabous et de normes sociales, incapables d'accéder en ligne à des informations précises sur la santé et les droits sexuels et reproductifs. L'écart entre les sexes en matière de téléphonie mobile signifie que seules deux femmes sur trois en Afrique possèdent un téléphone portable et qu'un tiers seulement utilise régulièrement des données mobiles. Les pratiques culturelles rétrogrades et les normes patriarcales endémiques, notamment le mariage précoce, l'excision, la purification sexuelle et l'héritage des femmes, continent de les exposer à d'innombrables risques. Les IST, le VIH, les violences sexuelles liées au genre et les grossesses chez les adolescentes sont monnaie courante; et les complications liées à la grossesse et à l'accouchement restent la principale cause de décès chez les filles âgées de 15 à 19 ans dans le monde. Cette situation s'est accentuée pendant la pandémie de COVID-19, qui a exacerbé les vulnérabilités des filles et des femmes. Aujourd'hui, alors que nous commémorons la Journée internationale de la fille, centrée sur la "génération numérique", nous souhaitons attirer l'attention sur les "droits" des filles et les défis uniques auxquels elles sont confrontées dans le monde. Le Mouvement d’Action des Jeunes de la Fédération internationale pour la planification familiale (IPPF) - une plateforme de plaidoyer dirigée par des pairs pour les jeunes âgés de 10 à 24 ans - nous montre chaque jour comment l'espace technologique croissant permet lentement aux adolescentes et aux jeunes femmes d'accéder aux appareils numériques et de rechercher des informations sur leur corps, la menstruation, la prévention de la grossesse, le consentement, l'amour, le plaisir, les relations, la contraception et l'avortement sans risque. C’est pourquoi au Nigeria, la Fédération Nigériane du Planning Familial (PPFN) – l’une des 33 Associations Membres de la Fédération internationale pour la planification familiale, région Afrique (IPPFAR) - a commencé à fournir des services de santé sexuelle et reproductive aux jeunes en utilisant plusieurs plateformes numériques, notamment les SMS, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, Zoom et des appels téléphoniques directs. Ces plateformes offrent des informations précises, interactives, en direct, des sessions éducatives, des consultations individuelles et des orientations personnalisées. Les jeunes peuvent également consulter le site web Youth Connect (https://youthconnect.ppfn.org ) et l'application e-Health du PPFN, tous deux conçus par des jeunes. Au Bénin, l'Association Béninoise pour la Promotion de la Famille a introduit des sessions d'éducation sexuelle complète (ESC) en ligne, en réponse à la fermeture des écoles, basées sur le cadre de l'IPPF pour l'ESC avec des modules sur le genre, la santé sexuelle et reproductive, le VIH, les droits et la citoyenneté sexuels, le plaisir, la violence, la diversité et les relations. Au Togo, l'Association Togolaise pour le Bien-Etre Familial a lancé "InfoAdoJeunes", une application multifonctionnelle développée pour et par les jeunes, qui fournit des informations essentielles sur la santé sexuelle et reproductive de manière amusante et attrayante. L’application comporte 8 onglets de navigation sur l'éducation sexuelle, le cycle menstruel, la contraception, la téléconsultation, la web TV, les jeux et quiz, un forum de discussion et un onglet où les utilisateurs peuvent poser des questions à un expert en temps réel. Ces initiatives se révèlent très efficaces et les réactions, en particulier celles des jeunes femmes et des jeunes filles, sont très positives! L'accès en ligne rapide, opportun et privé aux informations et aux consultations sur la santé sexuelle y est amusant, pratique, sans jugement et confidentiel. Tout le monde y gagne! Nous faisons écho à l'UNFPA: Pour s'assurer un avenir égalitaire, les filles doivent avoir un accès égal aux outils et informations numériques. C'est pourquoi, en cette journée internationale de la fille, l'IPPFAR renouvelle son engagement et appelle les gouvernements à investir dans la technologie numérique afin que les adolescentes et les jeunes filles d'Afrique puissent facilement accéder à des informations précises et de qualité sur leur santé sexuelle et reproductive et qu'elles soient en mesure de prendre des décisions éclairées sur leur corps et leur avenir. Par Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry et Monica Mwai Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry est la Directrice régionale de la Fédération internationale pour la planification familiale, région Afrique (IPPFAR) et Monica Mwai est une jeune stagiaire au sein de l'équipe de communication d’IPPFAR. La Fédération internationale pour la planification familiale, région Afrique (IPPFAR) est l'un des principaux fournisseurs de services de santé sexuelle et reproductive de qualité en Afrique et une voix de défense de la santé et des droits sexuels et reproductifs dans la région. Pour plus d'informations sur le travail de l'IPPF Région Afrique, suivez-nous sur Facebook, Instagram, You Tube et Twitter.