Ipas is proud to continue supporting community-based efforts to advance reproductive justice with the unveiling of 16 new recipients of the Ipas Collaborative Fund for 2024.
Ipas’s Collaborative Fund draws from our 20 years of grantmaking and 50 years of experience in expanding abortion access. Administered by local Ipas teams in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, it is currently overseen by the Ipas Africa Alliance, based in Kenya. The flexible, “no strings attached” grantmaking approach honors recipients’ local expertise and ensures they have the autonomy to do the work they deem most needed.
For 2024, Ipas has prioritized support for grassroots partners, shifting more funds to the grant program and doubling the total amount awarded in the last round of grants—primarily by cutting overhead and organizational costs.
The new grant recipients are organizations committed to social change—including the expansion of abortion rights and access—across the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia. Some of the organizations are youth-led or youth-focused, and many work on a range of topics—like poverty, gender-based violence, and disability rights—that intersect with Ipas’s mission. All are experts on the needs of the communities they serve.
“These outstanding organizations are committed to meaningfully enhancing sexual and reproductive health and rights, including abortion access, in the places where they work,” says Gonzaga Ogambi, Ipas Africa Alliance community engagement manager and grant manager. “The grantees are perfectly positioned to help build sustainable abortion access, addressing vital needs like accurate sexual health information, inclusive health services, and adaptation to climate change and its impact on reproductive health.”
Pictured above: Seeking to empower themselves, women in Kenya approached the local organization Entashata Loita CBO, a previous and 2024 recipient of the Ipas Collaborative Fund. Entashata helped the women start a beekeeping project, and they now enjoy income from the honey they sell. [Photo by Esther Sweeney for Ipas]
Centering local experts to advance reproductive justice
Through the fund, Ipas helps grantees integrate reproductive justice into their programs. This assistance includes capacity building in areas such as strategic planning, program management, financial systems, human resources, board development, and more. Additionally, the fund facilitates knowledge sharing and mutual learning opportunities among grantees.
“We choose grantees that we believe can make the most significant impact on the local abortion ecosystem, fostering a dynamic movement of locally led civil society organizations and stakeholders who are actively engaged, accountable, and dedicated to promoting abortion rights,” adds Ogambi.
Building partnerships that last
In the previous grant cycle, eight recipients from Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Central America, and Zambia were awarded, and their relationships with Ipas have extended beyond the one-year grant.
One outstanding grantee was the Pastoralist Community Initiative and Development Assistance (PACIDA) from Kenya. Through their grant, they met with women, girls, local health officials, youth groups, and community members to assess the impact of climate change on reproductive rights and decisionmaking. Then they collaborated to find practical solutions to extreme climate events like the drought afflicting their region. Now, Ipas and PACIDA are continuing their partnership with a collaboration on research to assess the resilience of local health systems, communities and individuals in the face of severe drought.
“Most people did not know that there was a link between climate change and sexual reproductive health, and this project has enabled us to educate the community on this link. With the help of Ipas, we have been able to start real change on environmental sustainability. We are looking for more ways to establish more innovative programs to address climate change.” – Abdia Lalikipia, PACIDA project coordinator
The Ipas Collaborative Fund aims to:
- Provide flexible small grants across various themes related to reproductive justice to drive social change.
- Enhance programs to expand abortion access that take an intersectional approach, connecting with issues that relate to or overlap with sexual and reproductive rights.
- Create a network of locally led civil society organizations and stakeholders dedicated to abortion rights.
- Boost the organizational capacity of grantees and foster sustainable programs on abortion care, access and rights.
The Ipas Collaborative Fund recipients for 2024 are:
Youth Sprint, Democratic Republic of Congo
Nikat Charitable Association, Ethiopia
Ethiopia Media Women Association, Ethiopia
Prasar, India
Bihar Gram Vikas Parishad, India
Rahima, Indonesia
Life Lifters Kenya, Kenya
Kenya Poverty Elimination Network (K-PEN), Kenya
Entashata Loita CBO, Kenya
Stage Media Arts (SMA), Kenya
Go Fund a Girl, Malawi
Aprofam, Mexico
Othoko, Mozambique
Saif Advocacy Foundation, Nigeria
MB Teen Lifestyle, South Africa
Contact Trust Youth Association (CTYA), Zambia
Learn more about all 2024 Ipas Collaborative Fund recipients and how they plan to use their grants.
For more information, contact [email protected].