Articles about Congo, Dem. Rep.

  From the WISH 2 Team Lead Today, on World Contraception Day, we reaffirm our collective commitment to ensuring that contraception is recognized and realized as a right, a responsibility, and a reality for all. Since its launch in 2007, World Contraception Day has been commemorated every year on 26 September, making 2025 the 19th annual global observance of this important campaign to raise awareness and advance SRHR.  The day reminds us of the power of choice and the transformative impact of SRHR on individuals, families, and communities. Access to safe, voluntary, and high-quality contraception is not only a health imperative, but also a pathway to dignity, equity, and opportunity. Under the WISH 1 (WISH2Action) project, 3.6 million additional family planning users were reached, an estimated 22 million maternal deaths, 4.3 million unsafe abortions, 13.2 million unintended pregnancies, and 19.2 million disability-adjusted life years were averted, a powerful demonstration of the lifesaving impact of sustained investment in SRHR. Building on this momentum, WISH 2 East and Southern Africa, set targets to reach 4.2 million family planning users, with the intention of preventing 3.2 million unintended pregnancies, 1 million unsafe abortions, and 5,600 maternal deaths across seven countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. Since the start of the project, WISH 2 has reached 169,590 annualised clients as at the end of June 2025. Through this project, we remain committed to expanding access to sexual and reproductive health services across Eastern and Southern Africa, with a particular focus on fragile and humanitarian settings where women, adolescents, and marginalised groups face the greatest barriers. By strengthening service delivery, advancing social and behaviour change, advocating for enabling policies, and generating evidence for learning, WISH 2 is ensuring that no one is left behind in the pursuit of sexual and reproductive health and rights. Central to this effort is strong partnership with governments, whose leadership and stewardship are essential for sustaining progress. WISH 2 works hand in hand with national and local authorities to complement their strategies and contribute to country-led priorities for universal access to contraception and broader SRHR. Yet, these gains are under threat. Global funding for SRHR is declining, undermining women’s rights, equity, and agency, and putting millions at risk of preventable harm. As we mark this 19th World Contraception Day, we call on governments, donors, and partners to renew their commitment to SRHR. Together, we can ensure that contraception remains accessible, affordable, and inclusive, empowering every individual to make informed choices about their bodies and futures. On this day, we celebrate the dedication of our partners, country teams including Member Associations, stakeholders who support the cause and frontline providers who work tirelessly to make contraceptive services more inclusive, resilient, and rights based. Together, we are creating a future where every individual, regardless of circumstance, can make informed choices about their reproductive health. Let us continue to learn, innovate, and act so that contraception is recognized not only as a method of family planning, but as a fundamental right for all. Contraception is not just health care, it is a right, a responsibility, and a reality we must protect and advance. Happy World Contraception Day!    

Nairobi, Kenya: 5 February 2025 – The International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa Region (IPPFAR) calls for an immediate de-escalation of the conflict in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the immediate establishment of humanitarian corridors to ensure unimpeded access to lifesaving aid, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services.  The situation in eastern DRC has deteriorated catastrophically following the capture of Goma by M23 armed groups between 26 and 29 January 2025.  IPPF has received distressing reports of widespread suffering, with thousands of civilians trapped and deprived of essential humanitarian assistance, including access to sexual and reproductive healthcare. At least 900 people have been killed, nearly 3,000 injured, and countless others displaced, forced to seek refuge in overcrowded churches, schools, and temporary shelters, where their safety remains precarious.  IPPF’s partners in the DRC report the destruction of aid and healthcare facilities, looting by armed groups, and the evacuation of United Nations and humanitarian INGO staff, leaving civilians at heightened risk of sexual violence, unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and food insecurity.    “We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe, with hospitals inaccessible and humanitarian access blocked, pregnant women and survivors of sexual violence have nowhere to turn. Maternal services, emergency contraception, post-rape care, and safe abortion services are entirely out of reach, leaving thousands of women and girls facing forced pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and lifelong trauma” said Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry, IPPF Africa Regional Director.    IPPF’s in-country partners are not able to fully resume all Sexual and Reproductive Health in Emergencies (SRHiE) services, referrals, and psychosocial support due to safety concerns for their healthcare workers and shortage of commodities. The organization is calling for the urgent establishment of a protected humanitarian corridor to ensure the delivery of lifesaving care, particularly for those subjected to sexual violence.  "Conflict shatters lives and denying access to sexual reproductive health and rights only exacerbates the suffering, deepens inequalities, and robs people—especially women and girls—of their dignity and future. These are fundamental human rights, and are as critical as food, water, and shelter in times of crisis", added Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry, IPPF Africa Regional Director.    “Goma is harbouring over 400.000 Internally displaced people that have scattered due to the clashes between the DRC army and M23. Women and children remaining have once again been victims of violence and could face sexual violence historically used as a weapon of war against civilian. The international community must prioritise women and children's needs and take decisive actions to prevent atrocities to unfold. We must ensure that the most vulnerable are at the heart of our response, and, most importantly, we must work to prevent sexual violence from happening in the first place", said Valerie Dourdin, IPPF Global Humanitarian Director.  IPPF urges regional leaders, the international community, and UN agencies to take immediate action to:  End the violence, with all parties ceasing their offensive and an immediate end to the targeting of civilians, in line with international humanitarian law.   Guarantee humanitarian access and safe, unhindered delivery of essential aid, including emergency SRH services, post-rape care, and safe abortion access.  Protect women and girls with a zero-tolerance approach to sexual violence, with justice and accountability for perpetrators.  Ensure safe refuge and immediate protection for displaced persons, with neighbouring countries urged to accept and support refugees.  Restore healthcare services and the immediate re-establishment of essential healthcare and SRH services to support affected communities.   Protect healthcare workers and facilities by implementing measures to ensure their safety and put an end to attacks on frontline responders.  IPPF remains committed to advocating for the rights and dignity of those affected by the ongoing conflict and will continue working with its Member Associations to restore access to life-saving humanitarian SRH services in the Eastern DRC and neighbouring countries.  END  For further information or to request an interview, please contact:  -Mahmoud GARGA, Lead Strategic Communication, Voice and Media, IPPF Africa Regional Office (IPPFAR) – email: [email protected] / Tel: +254 704 626 920   - Hanna Lund Adcock Senior Humanitarian Communication Adviser, IPPF Global Humanitarian Team – email:  [email protected] / Tel: +44 773 792 49 15 ABOUT IPPF AFRICA REGION (IPPFAR)  The International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa Region (IPPFAR) is one of the leading sexual and reproductive health (SRH) service delivery organization - in normal and humanitarian situations- in Africa, and a leading sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) advocacy voice in the region. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, the overarching goal of IPPFAR is to increase access to SRHR and SRHiE services to the most vulnerable youth, men and women in sub-Saharan Africa.  Supported by thousands of volunteers, IPPFAR tackles the continent’s growing SRHR and SRHiE challenges through a network of Member Associations (MAs) in 40 countries. We do this by developing our MAs into efficient entities with the capacity to deliver and sustain high quality, youth focused and gender sensitive services. We work with Governments, the African Union, Regional Economic Commissions, the Pan-African Parliament, United Nations bodies among others to expand political and financial commitments to sexual and reproductive health and rights in Africa.   Learn more about us on our website. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is Africa’s second-largest country with 94 million inhabitants, and the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) challenges are correspondingly immense. The country is still, in a fragile phase of post-conflict reconstruction, has very high maternal and new-born mortality rates (30 per 1000 live birth), [1] and HIV prevalence [2](0.7%) as well as a legacy of sexual violence, propagated during conflict times.  The unmet need for family planning stands at 21%[3], while  facing a wide gender disparity in secondary school education with teenage pregnancy, early marriages, and social norms being key causes.[4] Atusiko Pika Belle, now aged 22, previously dropped out of secondary school when she became pregnant, to take care of her child. “I was chased out of the house by my father because of this. Some of our family members intervened and he allowed me to come back home,” she said. She is a single mother living in Kinshasa. A Step Forward Atusiko, queues up with other women outside a WISH mobile clinic in Nsele, a municipality in Kinshasa. She heard about it from a community health volunteer and is interested in getting a contraceptive method, since many women and girls from the area are unable to access and afford contraceptives. Unfortunately, the DRC health system faces many challenges including low coverage and availability of clinical and community family planning services. “I came as soon as I could. The contraception will prevent me from getting pregnant. I can focus on taking care of my child and go back to finish my secondary studies without another interruption.” The WISH Lot 1 programme is led by MSI Reproductive Choices and implemented in DRC through a partnership with IPPF through its Member Association, Association pour le Bien-Être Familial – Naissances Désirables (ABEF-ND). Under the ‘Leave No One Behind’ strategy, the programme focuses on providing integrated sexual and reproductive services to marginalised communities such as youth under 20, people with disabilities, people living in poverty, and those in humanitarian settings. Under the WISH project, ABEF-ND developed a strong network of community-based distributors and community-based services, but this system has its limits as only a limited range of contraceptive methods and services can be provided. To fill this gap and expand its reach, ABEF-ND, through WISH operates a mobile clinic. ABEF-ND can now reach underserved people within their communities, reducing the barrier of transport time and costs to reach services. Integrated services are provided at the mobile clinic including blood tests, cervical cancer screening, and gynaecologyy consultation. A Brighter Future “No one ever spoke to me about sex or provided me with this information when I was growing up. Maybe my life would have been different,” said Atusiko. She had a counselling session and opted to receive an implant. She can now plan her future. “I have been worried about getting pregnant again. I want to finally go back to secondary school. My dream was to study economics at university, but it might be difficult due to finances. I’m now thinking about studying hospitality and working in the hotel business”. In a day the mobile clinic can serve more than 100 clients. Follow-up care is an essential consideration for the programme. “We organise outreach activities in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Health District, who provide their own staff ensuring follow-up care for our clients after the mobile team leaves the community,” said Eugène Byianga, the WISH Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor at ABEF-ND. The WISH ABEF-ND team shall continue to deploy the mobile clinic in Kinshasa and is planning to move to other regions such as Kwilu in the next months. Atusiko’s story is representative of one of the many challenges faced by women and girls in DRC. The story underpins the inter-relationship of key issues such as SRH and education. Collaboration by all key stakeholders including programmes like WISH, Government, and other development partners is essential in empowering them to take charge of their sexual and reproductive lives and fulfil their dreams. [1] United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, United Nations Population Division and the World Bank). [2] Democratic Republic of Congo Country Profile (cdc.gov) [3] World Population Dashboard -Congo, the Democratic Republic of the | United Nations Population Fund (unfpa.org) [4] https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/733861636744027227/pdf/Determinants-of-the-Basic-Education-Gender-Gap-in-DRC-Supply-and-Demand-Side-Factors.pdf  

The SPRINT Initiative provides one of the most important aspects of humanitarian assistance that is often forgotten when disaster and conflicts strike: access to essential life-saving sexual and reproductive health services. We build capacity of humanitarian workers to deliver essential life-saving sexual and reproductive health services in crisis and post-crisis situations through the delivery of the Minimum Initial Service Package (SRH) for reproductive health in emergencies.   Through funding from the Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) our SPRINT Initiative has brought sexual and reproductive health to the humanitarian agenda, increased capacity and responded to a number of humanitarian emergencies. Australia has funded the SPRINT initiative since 2007 and has supported reaching 1,138,175 people to date and continues to respond to ongoing emergencies.   In each priority country, we work with an IPPF Member Association to coordinate and implement SPRINT activities. Through these partnerships, SPRINT helps strengthen the enabling environment, improve national capacity and provide lifesaving services during times of crisis.   You can read more about the SPRINT Initiative and IPPF Humanitarian’s Programme here.   Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)      Australia's location in the Indo-Pacific provides us with a unique perspective on humanitarian action. Australia is committed to helping partner governments manage crisis response themselves. This is done through building the capacity of the national government and civil society to be able to respond to disaster. DFAT also works with experienced international partners to prepare for and respond to disasters, including other donors, United Nations agencies, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and non-government organisations.  

21-year-old Maguy is a student at the Institute of Medical Techniques in Kinshasa, studying nutrition. Every year, Maguy participates in internship programmes in health centers, where she enhances her practical skills in her field of study. Maguy’s passion for community-based health also sees her participate in sexual reproductive health awareness campaigns as part of the activities of IPPF’s Member Association in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Association pour le Bien-Etre Familial/Naissances Désirables (ABEF/ND). "In one of the health centres, I worked with pregnant women where I would give them advice on healthy diet in pregnancy. While doing so, I noticed that there was an information gap on various issues, such as family planning. Young mothers would ask many questions about the advantages and disadvantages of contraceptives. They would also say how they wanted to space their births, but did not know exactly how to go about it. I decided to fill this information gap by increasing their knowledge on family planning issues, with the support of ABEF/ND,” she says. ABEF/ND’s activities are part of the Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) programme which, under the strategy of ‘Leave No One Behind’, provides integrated and inclusive quality family planning and sexual and reproductive health services to marginalized and hard-to-reach populations, the poor, young people under 20 and people with disabilities. Also read: Disability and Access to Sexual Reproductive Health Services in Mozambique Since she started her community-based distribution work two years ago, Maguy has noted some successes in people’s behaviour, such as the increase in the number of people asking for condoms.   “Both young and old are asking for condoms unlike before. They say they want to protect themselves and those they care for. I have also noted that many girls and young women are concerned about their future and have a great desire to protect themselves from negative sexual outcomes. This is encouraging, as it means that the information we have been passing on to them has been of help,” she says. Maguy notes that the WISH project, which has helped increase people's knowledge on contraceptives and their use, has been well received by community members. Today, community health volunteers such as herself are easily recognized. “At the beginning, people did not trust us. However, they have since understood and realized the benefit of our work and nowadays, whenever they meet us in the community or on our way home, they call out to us. We ended up making friends with them.” Also read: Stories of Change: Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Programme (WISH) For more updates on our work, follow IPPF Africa Region on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and You Tube.