![Rina Pradhan is a youth leader working in rural communities of Jharkhand.](https://www.ipas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/7226-A-Rina-Pradhan-youth-leader-150x150.jpg)
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![Ipas DRC trains women to produce reusable sanitary napkins.](https://www.ipas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/7159-A-DRC-sanitary-napkins-150x150.jpg)
During COVID-19, women and girls around the world have faced a surge in gender-based violence (GBV) linked to lockdowns and stay-at-home orders issued by governments in response to the pandemic.
![Fátima João's daily life is impacted by climate change in Beira Mozambique](https://www.ipas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/6811-A-MozClimate-FatimaJoao-150x150.jpg)
In the coastal town of Joal in Senegal, the community are dependent on the sea for everything from their food to their livelihoods. But a reduction in rainfall, plus an influx of sea water and algae, caused by rising sea levels and erosion, means that many species of fish that used to flourish in the mangroves no longer do so.
![Trisha Bala Mondol, Shamnagar, Shatkhira, Bangladesh](https://www.ipas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/6731-A-BangladeshClimateTrishna-150x150.jpg)
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![A group of Congolese women wearing colorful headscarves and clothing are sitting and engaging in conversation. Dr. Celestine Buyibuyi, in an Ipas orange cap and white shirt, is speaking to others who are attentively listening. The setting appears to be outdoors.](https://www.ipas.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/8918-A-DRC-mobile-clinics-150x150.jpg)
![Abortion is not a crime. Abortion is not dangerous. Abortion is not rare. Abortion IS health care.](https://www.ipas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/00-A-Sept28-Abortion-is-NOT5-150x150.png)
![Safe abortion training in DRC.](https://www.ipas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/6667-A-DRC-WISH-2-150x150.jpg)
![Safe abortion training in DRC.](https://www.ipas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/6667-A-DRC-WISH-2-150x150.jpg)
A bold new effort to coordinate and catalyze the safe abortion movement across Francophone Africa is under way.
![Mexico Abortion Decriminalization](https://www.ipas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/7129-A-MexicoDecriminalization-150x150.jpg)
![Abortion is not a crime. Texas SB 8 is draconian and extreme](https://www.ipas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/00-A-Abortion-is-not-a-crime-TX-150x150.png)
![Abortion self-care with misoprostol](https://www.ipas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/6919-A-MisoPacks-150x150.png)
In Nigeria, where abortion is highly restricted and access to services is limited, more and more people are self-managing their abortions after going to patent medicine vendors (PMVs) for abortion information and pills.
![](https://www.ipas.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/feature-module-default-image-A-640x267-1-150x150.png)
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![Youth provide support for women and girls affected by the deadly volcanic eruption near Goma](https://www.ipas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/00-A-DRC-youthvolcano-150x150.jpg)
Representatives of seven youth groups from across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are joining forces to advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights, including safe abortion care in accordance with the Maputo Protocol.
![A group of Congolese women wearing colorful headscarves and clothing are sitting and engaging in conversation. Dr. Celestine Buyibuyi, in an Ipas orange cap and white shirt, is speaking to others who are attentively listening. The setting appears to be outdoors.](https://www.ipas.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/8918-A-DRC-mobile-clinics-150x150.jpg)
![Ipas at the Generation Equality Forum](https://www.ipas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GEF-A-Genderation-Equality-Forum-150x150.png)
![Hidalgo becomes third state in Mexico to legalize abortion](https://www.ipas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/7035-A-Mexico-IWD-150x150.jpg)
![Repeal Helms Now in front of the Capitol](https://www.ipas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/6999-A-RepealHelms-150x150.jpg)
Anu Kumar, President and CEO of Ipas, released the following statement in response to the U.S. House of Representatives’ State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee Appropriations Bill’s historic exclusion of the Helms Amendment and critical advances for reproductive justice globally: