Ipas Ethiopia is a regional leader in connecting women and girls with reproductive health care. Since we incorporated comprehensive contraception into our programs, over 11 million women and girls have used their preferred chosen contraceptive methods at our dedicated centers.
Since 2008, Ipas Ethiopia has pioneered a model that seamlessly combines comprehensive contraception with comprehensive abortion care across Ipas Network. Our commitment to expanding access to both contraception and abortion care for women and young girls has led us to support a network of 1,289 health facilities across the country, enabling them to provide comprehensive contraceptive services both as standalone service and as part of postabortion care.
health facilities supported across the country
“Comprehensive contraception includes providing counseling and services that meet women’s needs based on their informed choices,” says Dr. Abiyot Belai, Ipas Ethiopia’s national program manager.
Additionally, 837,452 women and girls have benefited from postabortion contraceptive services in health facilities supported by Ipas Ethiopia, provided by Ipas-trained healthcare professionals.
A holistic approach to abortion and contraception
Furthermore, we train comprehensive abortion care providers to integrate comprehensive contraception into their work.
“This ensures that women and girls can get postabortion contraception from the same provider that provides abortion care services, fostering a supportive environment for reproductive health,” explains Belai.
We support the health system in the following ways:
- Training of health-care providers by using the national training manuals that we co-developed
- Training of health managers and pharmacists
- Providing technical support on joint supportive supervision and review and monitoring of the program
We have successfully integrated comprehensive contraception and comprehensive abortion care at multiple levels: within health facilities and at other locations where these services are available, and through the training of health-care providers. We have also partnered with the Ministry of Health, contributing to a technical team focused on family planning.
Through these efforts, Ipas Ethiopia continues to make a profound impact on the reproductive health landscape, ensuring that women and girls can make informed choices about their bodies and futures.