From January 24 to February 15, 2021, an high-level mission of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) conducted by the Regional Director for Africa, Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry, went respectively to Senegal and Guinea to explore opportunities to better anchor the IPPF action in West and Central Africa through the establishment of a new sub-office  and the strengthening and diversifying of its partnerships in the region. In Senegal, the mission met with relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Youth, the General Secretary of the Ministry of Women, Family and Gender, the Director of Cabinet of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Director of the Cooperation to lay the foundations for the opening of a new IPPFARO sub-office for West and Central Africa in the country.  This new sub-office will enable IPPF to better support its West and Central Africa member associations and increase its local relevance and partnership with human rights and development organizations, sub-regional economic commissions and the donor community in this part of Africa. The authorities met by the delegation encouraged this initiative. According to Jean Antoine Diouf, Chief of Cabinet of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "IPPF's support to access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services is much appreciated and reinforces the actions of African governments ".The Ministry of Youth, Néné Fatoumata Tall, also expressed her enthusiasm regarding the future establishment of a sub-office of IPPF in Senegal, wishing for frank collaboration between her department and IPPF on youth issues. “The changing environment and the high-demand for SRHR services would be better served by an IPPF presence in the sub-region,” she said. The mission also held discussions with international organizations working in the same fields as IPPF such as Amnesty regional office for West and Central Africa, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and OXFAM with a view to creating joint programs and projects or strengthening existing partnerships with a special focus on the support, protection and defense of Human Rights Defenders working in the field of reproductive health and rights. In Guinea, the delegation met with the IPPF Member Association “Guinean Association for Family Welfare (AGBEF)” to finalize the Association's accreditation process, and visit some of its SRHR delivery facilities.  An affiliate member of IPPF since 1989, AGBEF is a Guinean non-profit NGO, founded in 1984  with the aim of reducing infant and maternal mortality in Guinea. Today it provides a wide range of SRHR services including family planning, child delivery, screening and care for People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), comprehensive sexuality education and SRHR training courses. The delegation also held meetings with Guinean authorities, including the First Lady, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of education, to discuss the strengthening of the collaboration framework between the country and IPPF in the field of SRHR in Guinea, and more particularly on CSE. During her meeting, the First Lady, Conde Djene Kaba expressed her gratitude to IPPF and its partner AGBEF for the efforts made since 1984 to provide quality sexual and reproductive health services in Guinea. She welcomed the visit of IPPF's Regional Director to the country and expressed her unwavering support for AGBEF's initiatives for young people, women and underserved populations in Guinea. The high-level mission was concluded with a visit to the NGO Solidarité Suisse-Guinée in Labe, south of Guinea, to assess the possibility of a collaborative partnership in the fields of SRHR, including the fight against female genital mutilation. During this visit, the delegation had opportunity to visit the NGO's grassroots achievements among which three community health centres providing sexual and reproductive health services with financial support from the NGO Solidarité. The managers of the various centres warmly welcomed the mission, testified to the importance of the current and future support provided by the NGO to their structures to meet the growing needs of the local populations in terms of health in general and SSHR in particular. The discussions held with the Governments of Senegal and Guinea, as well as the different international organizations working in the same field as IPPF laid the groundwork for future collaboration on SRHR issues in general and protection and defense of Human rights defenders working in the field of reproductive health and rights in particular. The visits to IPPFARO member association and collaborative partners in these two countries also reinforced the federation’s cohesion with a view to better address challenges and better serve populations.

A Federação Internacional Para o Planeamento Familiar (IPPF) acolhe as notícias sobre a descriminalização das relações entre pessoas do mesmo sexo em Angola.  A IPPF reconhece e congratula os activistas, defensores e organizações que ajudaram a tornar possível esta alteração histórica na lei. Na Quinta-feira, 10 de Fevereiro, entrou em vigor o novo código penal de Angola, o qual descriminaliza as relações entre pessoas do mesmo sexo. Também introduz protecções relativas à orientação sexual em algumas das cláusulas não-discriminatórias de Angola, e menciona a orientação sexual nas cláusulas do discurso do código penal. Os Angolanos de todas as orientações sexuais podem finalmente viver com maior liberdade e desfrutar do mesmo direito constitucional relativo ao amor e à autonomia corporal. Estas alterações representam a primeira reformulação das leis da era colonial desde que Angola conquistou a independência em 1975, abolindo cláusulas dessa era que estavam em vigor desde que o código penal introduziu a proibição em 1886. A Directora do Escritório Regional de África da IPPF, Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry declarou: “As notícias que chegam de Angola dão nova vida e esperança renovada não apenas para a comunidade LGBTI em Angola, mas para África como um todo. As leis anti-LGBTI da era colonial são uma mancha na nossa consciência colectiva, e esta decisão assinala uma nova era de inclusividade, esperança e amor. Ninguém deve ser tratado como criminoso por escolher quem amar, e esperamos que esta alteração legislativa inspire outros países que tenham um vestígio colonial semelhante a reverem as suas próprias leis.” O primeiro passo para alterar o código penal foi dado em 2019 quando o Parlamento aprovou as alterações propostas. No entanto, apenas em Novembro de 2020 é que estas foram ratificadas pelo Presidente João Lourenço, com um prazo de 90 dias até à sua entrada em vigor na última semana. O novo código penal aboliu a linguagem de “vício contra natura”, a qual era percebida como uma proibição às relações com pessoas do mesmo sexo. A nova lei inclui vários artigos que protegem contra a discriminação com base na orientação sexual, em relação ao trabalho ou locais públicos e eventos, e inclui a pena de prisão até dois anos por discriminação baseada na orientação sexual. Após a descriminalização em Angola, o número de países onde a homossexualidade é descriminalizada é agora 72. Esta é uma base sólida para o que aí vem, para permitir um mundo onde todas as pessoas possam tomar decisões sobre a sua sexualidade e bem-estar, livres de discriminação, uma luta na qual a IPPF será uma participante activa. Leia esta declaração em inglês.

20 November 2020. On the Trans Day of Remembrance, IPPF remembers the transgender people whose lives have been lost globally to transphobic violence, and stands in solidarity in the fight for trans rights. This year the Trans Murder Monitoring (TMM) project added 350 trans and gender-diverse people to the list of people to be remembered worldwide. This project systematically monitors, collects and analyses reports of homicides of trans and gender-diverse people worldwide. The world needs to wake up and understand that transphobia and its violence is a destructive aggression of social prejudice that denies people their human rights. IPPF works to change laws in countries to support gender and sexual diversity. We spotlight the Indonesian Planned Parenthood Association (IPPA/PKBI) who are fighting for to halt the Penal Code revisions that criminalises and stigmatises gender and sexually diverse persons, including trans people. IPPA produced a short film "Emak Menolak", highlighting the challenges of trans people in Indonesia. Check it out here: IPPF will continue to fight and stand in solidarity with the trans community until their rights are realized and respected, because trans rights are human rights. Will you join us? --ENDS--

Today, International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa Region (IPPFAR) joins the rest of the world in celebrating the International Day of the Girl under the theme: ‘My Voice, Our Equal Future’. IPPF Africa Region is committed to raising awareness on the need to eliminate all forms of discrimination against the rights of African girls. Through the Youth Action Movement (YAM), IPPFAR’s youth volunteer body, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to girl-led advocacy and leadership by ensuring that African girls are involved in key-decision making activities at country, regional and international levels. Various YAM empowerment campaigns and girl-focused programmes have enabled girls to create the future they want by giving them platforms to raise their voices and accelerate change in their communities. IPPFAR and its Member Associations are duty-bound to facilitate and improve girls’ access to sexual reproductive health information and services as this will not only empower them, but help them make informed decisions about their health. It is imperative to observe that girls who have passed through our youth programmes now hold influential positions in their communities. Today’s celebration comes amid the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the African girl in various ways. With schools often being a safe space for girls, their closures have predisposed them to various risks, such as teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections (including HIV), female genital mutilation, child abuse and sexual gender-based violence. Reports of girls being married off early have also increased, with parents -many of whom have lost their livelihoods because of COVID-19, doing so for economic gain. Movement restrictions and social isolation have also confined girls at home, leaving them with the burden of laborious domestic work and care giving. IPPFAR takes this opportunity to implore on African governments to unequivocally provide Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) for in and out of school youth -as this is among the means that would empower girls and reduce their vulnerability. Read the French version of this statement here. For more information about the work of IPPF Africa Region, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Aujourd'hui, la Fédération internationale pour la planification familiale - Région Afrique (IPPFRA) se joint au reste du monde pour célébrer la Journée internationale de la fille sous le thème : "Ma voix, l’égalité pour notre avenir". L’IPPF Région Afrique œuvre à sensibiliser sur la nécessité d'éliminer toutes les formes de discrimination en matière de droits des filles africaines. Avec le mouvement d'action des jeunes (MAJ), l'organe de jeunes volontaires de l'IPPFRA, nous continuons à manifester notre engagement en faveur de la défense des droits et du leadership des filles en veillant à ce que les filles africaines participent aux principales activités liées à la prise de décision aux niveaux national, régional et international. Diverses campagnes d'autonomisation du MAJ et programmes axés sur les filles ont permis à celles-ci de bâtir l'avenir qu'elles souhaitent, en leur offrant des plates-formes pour faire entendre leur voix et accélérer le changement au sein de leurs communautés. L'IPPFRA et ses associations membres ont le devoir de faciliter et d'améliorer l'accès des filles aux informations et aux services de santé sexuelle et reproductive, car cela leur permettra non seulement de se prendre en charge, mais aussi de prendre des décisions éclairées concernant leur santé. Il convient de noter que les filles qui sont passées par nos programmes pour jeunes occupent maintenant des postes influents dans leurs communautés. La célébration d'aujourd'hui a lieu dans le contexte d’une pandémie sans précédent liée à la COVID-19, qui a touché la fille africaine de diverses manières. Les écoles étant habituellement un lieu sûr pour les filles, leur fermeture les a exposées à divers risques, tels que les grossesses chez les adolescentes, les infections sexuellement transmissibles (dont le VIH), les mutilations génitales féminines, les mauvais traitements infligés aux enfants et la violence sexuelle à caractère sexiste. Les cas de mariage précoce de filles ont également augmenté, les parents - dont beaucoup ont perdu leurs moyens de subsistance à cause de la COVID-19 - le faisant pour des raisons économiques. Les restrictions de mouvement et l'isolement social ont également confiné les filles à la maison, les soumettant à la charge de travaux domestiques pénibles et de dispensation de soins. L'IPPFRA saisit l’occasion de la célébration de cette journée internationale de la fille pour exhorter les dirigeants africains à assurer sans équivoque une éducation sexuelle complète aux jeunes scolarisés et non scolarisés - car c'est l'un des moyens qui permettrait d'autonomiser les filles et de réduire leur vulnérabilité.   Lisez cet article en anglais ici. Pour plus d'informations sur le travail de l'IPPF Région Afrique, suivez-nous sur Facebook et Twitter.

Nairobi, 26 September 2020. Today, IPPF Africa Region joins the rest of the world in marking the World Contraception Day 2020. For over five decades, we have, through our network of over 39 Member Associations (MAs) in sub-Saharan Africa, responded to the contraceptive needs of millions of Africans. Contraceptive products offered through our MA’s static clinics, mobile clinics and community outreach programs have ensured that millions of women and girls have continued access to modern contraceptive options. Through the guidance of our highly skilled and well-trained healthcare workers, women and girls have made informed decisions about the most suitable family planning options for them. As a result, they have been able to avoid unplanned pregnancies (which may lead to unsafe abortions), and sexually transmitted infections (including HIV). Contraceptives have enabled women to space their children adequately, thus enhancing their quality of life and reducing maternal and infant mortality rates. It has also empowered millions of women and girls, enabling them to pursue their interests such as education and career, as well as business goals. In 2019, we empowered more than 32 million women and girls with Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights information and services in the sub-Saharan Africa Region. This year however, we mark the World Contraception Day under special circumstances. It comes when the world is reeling from the events of the COVID-19 pandemic. This unprecedented pandemic has caused major disruptions across all sectors including health systems, impacting greatly the access to contraception. Interruptions in supply chains have affected the effective distribution of contraceptive products, with stock-outs being experienced in many countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The unmet need for contraception is high, and undoubtedly worse during crisis situations. COVID-19 restrictions on movement have hampered women and girls’ access to health facilities for their regular contraceptive appointments. This has called for a change of strategy on the part of our MAs to ensure that women and girls still have access to family planning services. Despite the difficult times, they have ensured that healthcare workers are still available to offer services. Our MAs have also innovated their service and information delivery approaches, which have ensured that contraceptive products reach those who need them.    On this day, IPPF Africa Regional Office and its MAs reiterates the commitment to ensuring that the pandemic does not signify the end of people’s access to contraception, we will ensure to advocate and reaffirm our partnerships with other key players to re-emphasize the need why contraceptives are an essential component of women and girls’ healthcare. Media Contacts: -Maryanne Wanyama, Communications Officer, IPPFARO, Nairobi (Kenya) – Email: [email protected] -Sam Ntelamo, Resident Representative, International Planned Parenthood Federation, Liaison Office to the African Union & UNECA, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) – Phone: +251 (11) 667 0699/0761 - Mobile +251 (0) 944 73 2051- Email: [email protected]